Cabin in the Woods: a Marie-Grace Mystery
by I am that Writer
Summary: After arriving in Cairo, Illinois with her father, by the boat Liberty, Marie-Grace meets all her relatives while visiting her great-aunt Lisette. Marie-Grace becomes especially good friends with her cousin Alice, and Alice decides to show Marie-Grace the town of Cairo. But after a report in the newspaper one morning, the girls begin to suspect a mystery is brewing. . . .
1. An Old Friend of Papa's

1

AN OLD FRIEND OF PAPA'S

Eleven-year-old Marie-Grace smiled, and leaned over the edge of the double-decker riverboat, as the ship _Liberty _pulled into the dock of Cairo, Illinois. A breeze on the water pulled at her long, light-brown hair, which was tied back in a blue silk ribbon, to match her wool coat.

Her father, Doctor Thaddeus Gardner, came to stand by her.

"Are you excited to meet your aunts and uncles and cousins, Grace?" he asked his daughter.

"Oh, yes!" Marie-Grace answered. "And I can't wait to meet my great-aunt Lisette, too."

"I must warn you, though," Papa told her, "your cousins speak French better than English, and they speak it all the time."

"But I've learned French so much better now," Marie-Grace pointed out. "I'm sure I will have no trouble talking with them."

They were quiet a moment, then Marie-Grace asked shyly, "Papa, what are their names?"

"You have two uncles and aunts each in Illinois," Papa told her. "There is Aunt Isabelle and Uncle Pierre, and Aunt Odette and Uncle Alex, who is an American man. Your cousins are Bruno, Alice, André, Édith, Gilbert, Marc, Elise, and two babies, Brigitte and Emilie."

"How old are the children?" Marie-Grace inquired.

"Gracious me!" Papa exclaimed. "I would never be able to remember all their ages. There are nine children total. But I think Gilbert is the oldest, who is sixteen, and then fifteen-year-old Édith, and then Bruno. Gilbert and Bruno are brothers, and Édith is their sister. Their parents are Alex and Odette."

"What about the rest of them?" Marie-Grace inquired.

"I can't remember," Papa said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. The wind blew at his spectacles, making them slide a bit off his nose. He pushed them back with a hand and said, "I'm sure Marc is seven now, and he is the only son of Isabelle and Pierre."

"Poor Marc," Marie-Grace murmured. _I'm sure if I was a boy, I wouldn't like to have all sisters as my only siblings. And a lot of sisters, too,_ she thought

"But he has his two older cousins," Papa reminded Marie-Grace. "Gilbert and Bruno. And their houses are only a stone's throw away from each other."

"And my great-aunt Lisette's house is near, too," Marie-Grace remembered.

"Yes," Papa said. "We will stay with her. She has a lot of room in her house, now that all of her children have grown up, and her husband died last year."

Marie-Grace was quiet, then Papa said, "I should get our trunks from the ship."

He turned, and Marie-Grace heard his footsteps across the wood deck.

A few minutes later, Papa returned with a large trunk. He set it down on the deck next to Marie-Grace. "I'll get your trunk next, Grace," he told her.

Marie-Grace waited as Papa got her trunk from the storage deck on the ship. She watched people hurry off the ship, carrying trunks and other baggage. They had to walk on a thin, wide board plank to get off the ship, and onto the dock, which led into the town of Cairo.

Marie-Grace shivered, not wanting to go on the plank herself. She wondered if it had ever snapped under the weight of people.

Suddenly a man's deep voice said behind her, "Are you Miss Marie-Grace?"

She turned her head to see a tall, dark-haired man. Marie-Grace had been on the ship for days, and she hadn't seen him before. He must have boarded the ship in the last town _Liberty_ stopped at.

Marie-Grace nodded in answer to the stranger's question.

"And where is your father?" the man asked. He had a heavy French accent. Marie-Grace knew that it was French, for she was from New Orleans, and many people spoke French there. She knew the sound of the language well.

When Marie-Grace faltered to answer the man for a moment, he snapped at her, "Don't you know how to speak English, girl?"

Marie-Grace instantly didn't like him. He seemed rude to her, and had deep frown lines around his mouth.

"My father is below deck, getting my trunk," Marie-Grace told him. She didn't like talking to strangers because of her shy personality, but knew it would be rude to stay silent.

"Hmm," the man said. He rubbed his chin, which was covered by a thick, black beard.

Suddenly Papa came onto the deck, carrying Marie-Grace's trunk. He set it on top of his own trunk, then saw the stranger.

"Rupert Anon?" Papa asked.

"Thaddeus!" the man cried, and ran to hug Papa. Papa laughed, seeming to know the man.

"Where have you been all this time?" Papa demanded.

"I haven't seen you for so long," Mr. Anon murmured. "The girl was just a little thing." He paused. "But where is Mrs. Gardner, and the baby, Daniel?"

Papa swallowed, and the deck was silent.

"Oh, dear," Mr. Anon stammered, guessing the truth.

_He must not have seen Papa in a very long time,_ Marie-Grace thought, _if he doesn't know Mama and my brother Daniel are dead._

"My wife and son passed on from the yellow fever five years ago," Papa told Mr. Anon in a husky voice.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Anon said stiffly, and Marie-Grace didn't think he sounded very sorry at all.

"But where are you staying in Cairo?" Papa asked Mr. Anon, quickly changing the subject.

"At the hotel," Mr. Anon replied. "And where are you and your daughter staying?"

"We are staying with my aunt," Papa said.

"Ah, Lisette," Mr. Anon murmured. Marie-Grace was surprised that he seemed to know her great-aunt Lisette. "Well, I had better leave," Mr. Anon said quickly, picking up a small trunk near his feet, and moving toward the plank to leave the ship.

"Perhaps I will see you in Cairo!" Papa called after him, but Mr. Anon didn't seem to hear. He was in a great hurry, and almost ran into a woman as he crossed the board plank to the dock, and from there he was lost to Marie'Grace's eyes in the crowd.

"Papa, who is Mr. Anon?" Marie-Grace asked him, as Papa picked up his trunk in his arms.

"He is an old friend of mine, Marie-Grace," Papa replied. "But I'll tell you about him when we are on our way to Lisette's. Now, I must rent a carriage." He hurried off the ship, saying over his shoulder, "Stay here."

Marie-Grace stood by her own trunk as she tried to keep track of Papa, but he kept getting lost in the sea of people.

Finally she saw him talking to a driver at a carriage, then he gave the man something, and put his trunk in the carriage.

He came quickly back to Marie-Grace, and picked up her small trunk easily, saying, "Come, Grace."

They walked toward the ship's plank to leave _Liberty_, when Captain Obadiah Smith, the captain of the ship, came toward them, with Mr. Stevens, a pilot of the ship, walking behind him.

"Doctor Gardner!" Captain Smith called. He came to Papa's side, and Papa set Marie-Grace's trunk down.

"I wanted to say goodbye, and to thank you for doctoring the hurt men while on the ship," the captain told Papa, offering his hand.

Papa shook it, then said, "Good-bye, sir, and it was a small help I could do, doctoring the men."

Papa was talking about when another ship had hit a raft, a few days ago. Three men had been on the raft, and had been hurt. They had been taken onto _Liberty_, and Papa had tended to their injuries.

"Also, Mr. Stevens said he would like to say goodbye," Captain Smith said, motioning to the pilot.

"Goodbye, Thaddeus," Mr. Stevens said, shaking Papa's hand.

In the yellow fever epidemic, Papa had doctored Mr. Stevens's son, and saved the boy's life, so Mr. Stevens was grateful.

"Also, I am staying in Cairo awhile," Mr. Stevens said, to Papa's shock.

"Who will pilot the ship?" Papa asked him.

"There is another pilot," the dark-haired man assured him, "as well as Obadiah, and I am only staying off a little while. When _Liberty_ comes back to Cairo I'm getting back on it."

"Well, then it is not really a goodbye," Papa said. "Perhaps we will visit you in Cairo, or you could visit at my aunt's house. Where will you be staying?"

"At the hotel," Mr. Stevens said.

Marie-Grace thought of Mr. Anon, who was also staying at the hotel.

"We had better leave," Papa said, taking up Marie-Grace's trunk again. "The cabby won't wait in the carriage for us much longer."

"Goodbye again," Captain Smith said. He looked to Marie-Grace and said, "Goodbye to you too, Miss."

"Goodbye, sir," Marie-Grace said shyly.

She and Papa walked down the plank of the ship, and Mr. Stevens disappeared in front of them.

Marie-Grace wanted to clutch Papa's arm as she thought of the thin board below her feet, but Papa was carrying her trunk and she didn't want to accidentally throw him off balance.

The carriage driver was still waiting for them, but he was impatient. Papa loaded the trunk in the carriage, and he and Marie-Grace climbed in.

Marie-Grace heard the snap of reins, and the horses pulled the carriage, rattling, through the street.

"You were going to tell me about Mr. Anon," Marie-Grace reminded Papa.

"Ah," Papa remembered. "Well, there is not much to tell. He was an old friend of mine and lived in New Orleans for a while. Just before your mother and Daniel caught the fever"—here sadness crept into his voice—"he left, to Mississippi, I think."

"Does he have a family?" Marie-Grace inquired.

"No," Papa said, frowning. "I don't believe he has a family. It has been many years since I saw him, though, but he didn't mention a family on the boat."

"Perhaps we will see him while we stay in Cairo," Marie-Grace said, half to herself.

"Perhaps," Papa repeated.

Although Marie-Grace didn't like the man, she was still curious about him. Why hadn't she remembered Mr. Anon from when she was a little girl?

She sat a while, staring out the carriage's window.

"Is Great-Aunt Lisette's house far from here?" Marie-Grace sighed.

"No," Papa told her, reaching down to smooth her hair. "We are nearly there."

And as he spoke, the carriage turned out of town, and drove a ways into the woods, where a lovely cottage house stood.

"Your aunts' and uncles' houses are behind Lisette's," Papa told Marie-Grace. "And a pond near the Cairo river is not far away. It should be frozen at this time." Papa sighed wistfully. "Ah, I remember when I was a boy. We skated on the frozen pond every year in the winter."

"I wonder if my cousins skate on the pond," Marie-Grace said.

"They most likely do. And perhaps you could skate with them," Papa said. "I'm sure an extra pair of ice skates are lying around somewhere."

"I haven't skated much," Marie-Grace admitted.

"But it is such fun!" Papa said, his voice teasing.

The carriage stopped in front of Marie-Grace's great-aunt's house. The driver, hopping to the ground from his seat on the carriage, went to the carriage door and opened it, saying to Papa, "Here is the place, sir."

"Thank you," Papa said, nodding his head.

He and Marie-Grace stepped out of the carriage. Pine trees were all around. Marie-Grace thought she could hear running water close by. She wondered if it was the pond Papa had spoken of, or perhaps the Cairo river itself.

"I'll get the trunks," Papa told Marie-Grace quietly. He went and took the trunks out of the carriage, heaving them onto the ground. The carriage drove off.

Marie-Grace could spy two houses behind her great-aunt's.


	2. To Great-Aunt Lisette's

2

TO GREAT-AUNT LISETTE'S

A little boy ran outside of Great-Aunt Lisette's house, bursting through the door. A man stood in the doorway where the door hung open, and came out after the boy.

"Thaddeus!" the man cried, and hugged Papa.

"Pierre!" Papa said, smiling. "It has been a long time since I've seen you!"

_"Oui,"_ Pierre agreed. He looked at Marie-Grace. "My, how Marie-Grace has grown! I remember her as a baby."

Marie-Grace smiled shyly at the friendly man.

Then the little boy, who looked to be about seven years old, came up to Uncle Pierre and asked, _"Sont-ils mon cousin, et mon oncle?"_

"Oui, Marc," Uncle Pierre, said, smiling and picking up the boy in his arms. "This is your cousin, Marie-Grace, and your Uncle Thaddeus."

_"Bonjour!"_ Marc said, grinning at Papa and Marie-Grace.

"Hello," Marie-Grace said, smiling at the little, sandy-haired boy.

Marc frowned. _"Parlez-vous français?"_

"Yes, I speak French," Marie-Grace laughed. "But I speak English, too."

"Oh!" Marc said, grinning again. He jumped down from his father, and grabbed Marie-Grace's hand. "Come into Aunt Lissie's house!"

Marie-Grace allowed the little boy to drag her into Great-Aunt Lisette's house. Once inside the door, she stood on a woven rug, and saw children in the room, who were playing by the fireplace, stop to look at her. Marc shut the door behind them.

Marie-Grace felt herself blush, as all the eyes in the room turned to look at her.

There were two women, who sat knitting on chairs, in the room, and the children, all sitting sprawled all over the floor. Two older boys whittled wood with knives, and girls sat on the rug by the fireplace, playing with paper dolls.

"This is Marie-Grace, my cousin!" Marc announced proudly, smiling at everyone.

"Marie-Grace?" One of the women, a blond-haired lady, dropped her knitting onto her chair and stood, coming toward Marie-Grace. "My, how much you have grown!" she said. "You were just a tiny girl when I saw you last." She hugged Marie-Grace, then added, "I am your aunt Isabelle."

"She is my _maman_!" Marc said proudly. He looked at Marie-Grace with large, blue eyes. "Where is your maman?"

So he would understand, Marie-Grace said slowly in French, "My mother is dead."

It was silent in the room. Isabelle sighed and told Marc carefully, "Marie-Grace's mother and little brother died of a terrible yellow fever, Marc."

The other woman stood up quickly and told Marie-Grace, "I am your aunt Odette, dear."

Marie-Grace looked around at all the children with wide eyes.

There were many girls, two older boys, and two cradles by the fireplace.

A baby began to cry, and Aunt Odette bent over a cradle, taking out a tiny girl baby, wrapped in a soft, faded pink quilt.

"This is Brigitte," Aunt Odette told Marie-Grace, rocking the baby in her arms. She nodded to the other children, and prompted them, "Why don't you tell Marie-Grace your names?"

They gave their names and ages in French.

Gilbert was the oldest boy, sixteen.

Then Édith, a dark-haired girl, said she was fifteen.

The other boy, Bruno, was thirteen, and a girl, Alice, was Marie-Grace's age, eleven, with large, blue eyes, and sandy long hair, like Marc. Marie-Grace guessed Marc was Alice's brother.

Emilie was Gilbert, Édith, and Bruno's sister, and they were all Uncle Alex and Aunt Odette's children.

Elise, who was fourteen, and André, who was nine, were Marc and Alice's sisters. Brigitte was their baby sister, who was one year old, and they were Aunt Isabelle and Uncle Pierre's children.

"Hello," Marie-Grace said shyly to them all.

"You speak English?" Alice asked, her blue eyes widening.

"Yes," Marie-Grace nodded. She suddenly realized all she had said since coming in the house was to tell Marc that her mother had died, and she had told him that in French.

Just then a tiny, gray-haired woman opened a door in the house, carrying a silver tray of chocolate chip cookies.

"Here, children," the woman said, smiling. He gray curls hung loose over her shoulders.

She stopped when she saw Marie-Grace, and a smile lighted her face. "Where is Thaddeus?" the woman demanded. She seemed to have a lot of energy for her age. She looked to be about sixty or seventy years old to Marie-Grace, and she had crinkle lines near her eyes like she smiled a lot.

The woman set the cookie tray on a table, then came to touch Marie-Grace's face, and hugged her.

"Are you my great-aunt Lisette?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Yes, but you may call me Aunt Lissie," the woman told her. "'Great-aunt' makes me feel so old."

Marie-Grace laughed, and Papa and Uncle Pierre came into the room.

As the grownups talked, Marie-Grace went to the cookie tray and asked Elise, who had long, pale-brown hair, and brown eyes, "May I have one?"

"Of course," the fourteen-year-old said, waving her hand at the silver tray. "Aunt Lissie makes cookies every day for us."

Marc snatched one up. "And they're good!"

Alice laughed, and took a cookie just as Marie-Grace did.

"Did you come all the way on a boat here?" Alice asked her, mouth full of a cookie.

"Yes," Marie-Grace said, slowly chewing her own cookie.

"Children, you may go into the kitchen for milk," Aunt Isabelle told them.

"Come on," Alice said, taking Marie-Grace's hand.

She pulled her into the kitchen and sat her at a large, wood kitchen table, on a wood chair.

The rest of the children entered the small kitchen and sat at the table while Alice took out a quart of milk, and two glass cups.

She poured Marie-Grace a cup of milk, and Marie-Grace thanked her.

"Have you ever been to Cairo, Illinois before?" André asked Marie-Grace, with large, blue eyes.

Marie-Grace realized all of Uncle Pierre and Aunt Isabelle's children had large eyes. She looked around and saw that all their eyes were also blue, except for Elise's, which were brown, and Marie-Grace couldn't remember the baby Brigitte's eye color.

"Papa told me I have been to Cairo once before, when I was little, to visit my uncles and aunts," Marie-Grace told André.

"I remember when you were here. You were very little and you visited with Uncle Thaddeus," Gilbert told Marie-Grace. He was sitting at the other side of the table, with Bruno and Marc.

"I also remember Marie-Grace, a little," Édith told her.

"And how can you speak French?" Alice demanded.

"I learned when my Papa and I moved back to New Orleans," Marie-Grace told her shyly. "My friend, Cécile, helped me learn it, too."

"Cécile?" Elise asked.

"She is my friend," Marie-Grace explained. "She's my age, a free girl of color."

"We have free people of color here, in Cairo, too," Alice piped up.

"Are there any other children here?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Oh yes," Alice continued. "There is Betsy Anna Rogers, who is just my age." She wrinkled her nose. "We play together sometimes, but she isn't very nice."

"Alice!" Elise, her older sister, scolded.

"Well, she isn't!" Alice insisted stubbornly. "And," she added, "there are a brother and sister who live here, who are free people of color. I can't remember their names, but their last name is Harris, or Harrison, I think."

"Harris," Gilbert told Alice. "And the boy's name is Albert."

"Also," Alice went on, ignoring Gilbert, as everyone else listened, "there are the Davis children. They are twelve and seven years old, a girl and a boy."

"And their great-aunt, Mrs. Davis, owns a bakery," Bruno added.

"Mrs. Davis is a widow," Édith said in a soft voice.

"The Davises used to live in a log cabin, out in the woods," Gilbert commented, glancing slyly at his sister, then at Bruno.

"And some people claim to see dead Mr. Davis's ghost in the woods, by the old abandoned cabin," Bruno added teasingly.

"Some people see lights out in the woods by the cabin," Gilbert continued.

"Stop it, you two!" Édith told her brothers. "You're frightening the children."

Marie-Grace wondered if Édith meant herself. Though she wouldn't admit it, Bruno's story did make her shiver. Marie-Grace asked, "Where is the cabin?"

"Only a half mile from our house," Bruno told her, grinning.

"Have _you_ ever seen a light?" Marie-Grace asked in a frightened voice.

"No . . . not yet," Bruno said.

Just to prove to the other children she wasn't scared, Marie-Grace said, "Maybe you could show me the cabin sometime."

Before Bruno could answer, Alice interrupted, "Anyway, there are lots more children in town, but we don't know them all. And Mrs. Davis has a young woman, Miss Marshal, who works at her bakery. She is very nice and lets us have slices of bread sometimes."

"Then there's Mr. Gregory," André reminded.

"Yes, Mr. Gregory is a jewelry man. He owns a jewelry store, and he's also nice," Alice said.

Out of all of her cousins, Marie-Grace decided that Alice talked the most.

"_Then_ there's old Mrs. Widow White," Alice went on. "And Sheriff Lewis, and our Mayor Aaron Potts."

"We could show you around town tomorrow," Marc offered. He poured himself a second glass of milk.

"I haven't met my Uncle Alex yet," Marie-Grace reminded them all.

"Oh, Papa is in the barn," Gilbert told her.

"You have a barn?" Marie-Grace inquired.

"Oui. We can show you tomorrow," Gilbert offered. He stretched his long arms. "Right now, I'm hungry."

"Me, too," Bruno agreed.

"Supper is cooking at our house," Édith reminded her brothers. "It's beef stew."

"Where will Papa and I be staying?" Marie-Grace asked shyly.

Alice quickly told her, "I have extra room in my bed! You can sleep with me!"

Marie-Grace was about to shyly thank her. She was thinking that it would be fun to stay with her cousin, when Aunt Odette came into the kitchen.

"Children, supper will be ready in a few minutes," she said. "Wash your hands in the bathroom. We'll all be eating at Aunt Lissie's house."


	3. Cairo, Illinois

3

CAIRO, ILLINOIS

Supper was a large affair. The men carried tables and chairs to Aunt Lissie's house, and the women brought bread and soup, along with other food to the tables.

Marie-Grace met her Uncle Alex at supper. He was a dark-haired man and had an American accent, even though he spoke French fluently. He was very friendly, and immediately offered for Marie-Grace and her father to stay in his home.

Uncle Pierre offered for them to stay in his home, too, and so did Aunt Lissie.

"We had originally planned to stay with Aunt Lisette," Papa told them all. "We wouldn't want to crowd the rest of you."

"I have extra room in my bed!" Alice spoke up eagerly. "Marie-Grace can stay with me!"

Marie-Grace blushed, thinking Alice was very bold to speak up in the adults' conversation.

"Would you like that, Grace?" Papa asked, turning to look at her.

She nodded, and so it was settled. Papa would stay in Aunt Lissie's guest room, while Marie-Grace would sleep with Alice.

Marie-Grace felt a little nervous to stay in a different house from her father, but she was also a little excited by it.

She sat by Alice at supper, while her cousin chatted away.

After supper, Marie-Grace helped clean the dishes in Aunt Lissie's kitchen sink, and then Alice took her arm and led her outside to Uncle Pierre's house.

"This is my room," Alice told Marie-Grace proudly, opening a door down the long hallway of Uncle Pierre and Aunt Isabelle's house.

The room was small, but had a large bed against a wall, that could fit two people in it easily, and a small, oval mirror sat on a bureau dresser nearby; there was also a cozy sofa in the corner. A wood chair sat near the door, with a white, cotton pinafore hung over it.

"You can unpack your trunk into my dresser, if you like," Alice offered.

Marie-Grace's trunk sat on the floor near the bed. Uncle Alex had brought it in the house for her.

"Thank you," Marie-Grace said. She bent down and unlocked the trunk with a key in her hand that Papa had given her. The lock sprang, and Marie-Grace lifted the trunk's lid.

Inside, her clothes were a mess. She had folded them so neatly before she'd boarded the ship, but from being below deck with the other baggage so long, and being tossed on the ocean, her trunk's contents had rumpled and unfolded.

Marie-Grace sighed and took out a dress, folding it.

Alice opened a drawer in the bureau for Marie-Grace to place the dress. She watched as Marie-Grace unpacked all her clothes for a few minutes. "You don't have a pinafore?" she said suddenly.

"No," Marie-Grace answered her shyly.

"Well, how will you do the barn chores tomorrow?" Alice asked.

"What are the barn chores?" Marie-Grace asked, folding a thick shawl, and placing it beside her dress in the drawer.

"Mostly I just feed the chickens, gather their eggs," Alice said. "You can help me."

"I've never fed chickens before," Marie-Grace admitted.

Alice seemed surprised. "Never?"

"No," Marie-Grace told her, blushing.

"Well, I'll show you how to do it tomorrow."

Marie-Grace finished unpacking. She closed the drawers to the bureau, then locked her trunk and pushed it to a corner of the room.

"You could put it under the bed," Alice suggested. "It would be out of the way then." She shrugged her thin shoulders.

"I'll leave it there for now," Marie-Grace decided, feeling slightly weary. "That trunk was heavy."

The two girls took out their nightgowns and changed into them. Marie-Grace watched as Alice brushed out her long hair, then braided it carefully, tying the end with a ribbon.

Marie-Grace simply loosed the ribbon in her hair, which had held back her tresses since she was on the ship _Liberty_ that morning.

They climbed into bed, and Alice blew out the single gas lamp. Marie-Grace listened to the quilts shifting as her cousin moved in bed.

– ❧ –

The next morning, Marie-Grace woke early, and dressed. Alice was still sleeping, but as Marie-Grace opened the bedroom door to go out, she heard her cousin sit up and yawn.

Marie-Grace went into the kitchen of Uncle Pierre and Aunt Isabelle's house, shivering, even though a thick shawl was wrapped around her shoulders.

Aunt Isabelle was up, stirring a large pot with a wood spoon over the stove.

"You're up early, Marie-Grace!" Aunt Isabelle said, surprised.

"Good morning," Marie-Grace told her aunt, smiling.

"Would you like to help set the table?" Aunt Isabelle asked. Marie-Grace nodded, and Isabelle showed her where the silverware and dishes were kept, in a cabinet in the dining room.

Marie-Grace took out plates, cups, and spoons, and set them on a large wood dining table for breakfast.

Soon all her cousins were awake, and Uncle Pierre came inside from the barn. They ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal, then Marie-Grace helped clean up the dishes.

Papa was not at breakfast. Uncle Pierre informed Marie-Grace that he had gone on an errand that morning.

"Alice, you have your barn chores," Aunt Isabelle reminded.

Alice sighed, then turned to Marie-Grace and frowned, knitting her eyebrows. "Where is your pinafore?"

"I already told you I don't have one," Marie-Grace reminded her cousin.

"But you could have borrowed one of mine! You can't do barn chores without a pinafore." Alice raced back to her room and disappeared through the door. A minute later, she reappeared, holding a white pinafore like the one she wore herself, hung over her arm. "Here," Alice said, thrusting it at Marie-Grace.

Aunt Isabelle watched as Marie-Grace unbuttoned the back of the pinafore, then slid her arms in the sleeve holes. Alice buttoned up the back for her.

"There," Alice said, satisfied. "Now, hurry!"

They went outside, and Marie-Grace saw the large barn for the first time. When she and Alice stepped inside, the unfamiliar smell of animals reached her nose.

"We'll feed the chickens first," Alice told Marie-Grace. She hefted a bag of chicken feed, which had been leaning against the barn wall, and poured some into her apron as she held the bottom up, catching the grains. Alice gestured for Marie-Grace to mimic her, then poured some feed into her apron.

Alice put the bag back and said, "Throw the feed at the chickens, all over the chicken coop." She opened a wire-made door to the chicken coop, where hens stood, strutting around, sometimes pecking at the ground. A few hens sat in small boxes against the wall, in hay, like a nest.

Marie-Grace did as Alice said, watching her cousin carefully and copying her.

All the greedy hens rushed at the feed, as well as the ones that had been sitting in boxes. While they were busy eating, Alice and Marie-Grace gathered the eggs from the boxes, putting them carefully in wicker baskets that Alice had retrieved from the barn.

When their chores were finished, Alice dusted off her hands, and asked, grinning, "Shall I show you around Cairo, Illinois now?"

"Will we walk?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Yes," Alice told her. "Wait here a moment."

She disappeared out of the barn with the egg baskets, then returned soon, out of breath.

"I had to give the baskets to Maman," Alice explained. "And I told her we were going to town." She grabbed Marie-Grace's hand. "Come on!"

The two girls flew out of the house and down the path through the woods, toward town, their hair and skirts flying from the light wind. When they arrived in the town of Cairo, Alice and Marie-Grace stopped running. Marie-Grace gasped, out of breath.

"Let's go to Mrs. Davis's bakery first," Alice suggested. "Maybe she'll give us a piece of bread or something else to munch on while I show you the rest of town."

They headed toward a small shop that smelled delicious, of freshly baked bread and muffins, to Marie-Grace. Over the door was a sign: _Davis Bakery_. Marie-Grace could see a young woman with light-brown hair through the shop window, rolling out dough with a rolling pin, then kneading it with her fists.

"That's Miss Marshal," Alice said, pointing to the young woman. She was wearing a blue-and-white striped apron, and her light-brown hair was pulled back in a bun. Wisps of her hair hung around her face, and clung to her skin, as if she were sweating.

Alice opened the bakery door and the two girls went inside. Instantly Marie-Grace felt the temperature change, from the cold, spring weather outside, to oven-hot air, so warm that she wiped her brow.

"Hello, Miss Marshal!" Alice called cheerfully, giving a friendly wave toward the young woman.

Miss Marshal looked up and wiped pieces of her damp hair back, with a flour-smudged hand. "Good afternoon, Alice," she said to the girl, then eyed Marie-Grace curiously.

"This is my cousin, Marie-Grace," Alice explained. "She and her papa are staying with us for a while."

"Doctor Gardner's daughter?" Miss Marshal asked.

"Yes," Alice answered.

"How do you know my papa?" Marie-Grace asked shyly.

"Alice's father and your uncle Alex speak of him," Miss Marshal replied. "And some other people in town have met him."

"Where is Mrs. Davis, Miss Marshal?" Alice inquired.

"Mrs. Davis went out on an errand," Miss Marshal said. "I think she will be back in a few minutes."

"Well, I'm showing Marie-Grace the town," Alice said.

Marie-Grace commented, "You have a lovely bakery." She gazed around the shop.

The countertop that Miss Marshal was working on was very long, and two large ovens—which Marie-Grace guessed let out all the heat—were near the back of the bakery. Wood shelves held fresh bread and muffins, scones and croissants. Looking at it all made Marie-Grace's mouth water.

"Thank you," Miss Marshal said, smiling.

"We had better leave," Alice said, grabbing Marie-Grace's hand. "I still have to show you the rest of the town."

"Wait, girls!" Miss Marshal cried. She went to a shelf and took two fresh blueberry muffins down. She handed them to the girls, smiling.

"Thank you, Miss Marshal," Marie-Grace said.

_"Merci!"_ Alice said, grinning at Miss Marshal as she took her blueberry muffin.

"Goodbye, girls!" Miss Marshal called cheerily to them, as they went out the bakery door.

The girls walked down the street, eating their delicious muffins.

"That's old Mrs. Widow White," Alice told Marie-Grace, her mouth full of muffin, pointing to an old-looking house in town. "And that's the jeweler's. Come on, let's go in!"

Marie-Grace ate the last of her muffin and brushed crumbs off her hands before following Alice into the jewelry shop.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Gregory!" Alice called out. A bell rang as she and Marie-Grace stepped through the door.

"Hello, Alice," an old man with graying hair greeted. He was holding up a gold necklace in the light through the window and studying it with a magnifying glass. He put the necklace down as the girls came to the counter.

"This is my cousin, Marie-Grace Gardner," Alice explained quickly.

"Hello, Miss Marie-Grace," Mr. Gregory greeted her, smiling in a friendly way. "Do you like jewelry?"

"Oh, yes!" Marie-Grace told him. "I have some necklaces of my own, but none so fine as this jewelry!" She swept a hand at all the necklaces and bracelets, and earrings and rings that lay organized on the counter.

Mr. Gregory beamed. "This necklace," he boasted, holding up the one he had previously been examining, "is made of pure gold."

Marie-Grace gasped. "It must be expensive!" She had thought the necklace was just plaited in gold, or parts of it were gold.

"It costs seventy-six dollars," Mr. Gregory told her seriously.

"We had better hurry, Marie-Grace," Alice interrupted. They headed toward the door.

"Goodbye, Mr. Gregor!" Marie-Grace called. "Thank you for the short visit!"

"Goodbye," he said.

Back out in the street, Marie-Grace and Alice passed a woman with long gray hair in a bun, wearing a white apron.

"Mrs. Davis!" Alice cried. "We stopped at the bakery, and Miss Marshal said you were out on an errand."

Mrs. Davis looked to Marie-Grace, confused. "Who is this?"

"Oh, this is my cousin, Marie-Grace," Alice told her. "She and her father—"

"Yes, yes. Well, I must be off!" Mrs. Davis interrupted, and looked around hurriedly, before walking toward the bakery.

"Well, _she_ was acting strange!" Alice stated, hands on her hips.

Marie-Grace was thinking about Mrs. Widow Davis's dead husband, and the stories of his ghost in the woods.

"If Mrs. Davis doesn't live in her cabin in the woods anymore," Marie-Grace wondered aloud, remembering how Bruno had claimed it was abandoned, "then where does she live?"

"Oh, she sleeps in the back of the bakery," Alice replied. "And Miss Marshal lives with her family, in Cairo."

A young girl walking down the street in a bright pink dress, carrying a lacy white parasol over her shoulder caught Marie-Grace's eye.

"That's Betsy Anna Rogers," Alice whispered to Marie-Grace. "But I don't want to talk to _her_ now."

But Betsy had already seen them, and came toward Alice. "Who is this?" Betsy asked. She looked to be about eleven years old, and had long, golden-blond curls.

"This is my cousin, Marie-Grace. She's staying with us for a while," Alice explained hurriedly. "But we have to hurry home now." She took Marie-Grace's hand and pulled her away, leaving Betsy Anna looking confused.

"But I didn't see the rest of the town!" Marie-Grace complained to Alice.

"I'll show it to you later," Alice replied, shrugging. "We really should go long. I told Maman we wouldn't be gone long."

As they walked down the street, passing people, Marie-Grace and Alice passed by a large building. It looked like a bank.

"That's Mr. Aaron Potts, our mayor," Alice told Marie-Grace, pointing to a tall man with reddish hair and a large mustache, who stood outside the bank. She lowered her voice and added, "A lot of people have been cross with him lately, because he's asked for money from the town citizens, to fund the bank, so it can build a room in the back to keep a safe for money."

"And that's Mr. Stevens!" Marie-Grace cried, pointing to the boat pilot, who stood near the bank, looking thoughtfully at the ground. "Let's go say hello!" Marie-Grace offered, starting toward Mr. Stevens.

Alice shook her head. "I told my mother we would be home soon!" she reminded

So Marie-Grace and her cousin headed back to the woods.


	4. The Newspaper Story

4

THE NEWSPAPER STORY

Marie-Grace and Alice came to the houses in the woods, and went into Aunt Lissie's first. Marie-Grace saw Papa sitting at a table with Uncle Alex, inside, playing chess.

"I showed Marie-Grace around town!" Alice announced loudly, her voice proud.

Nobody seemed to hear her.

When it was Uncle Alex's turn to move in chess, Marie-Grace saw Papa pick up a newspaper on the floor, near his feet.

The women sat in chairs, knitting, near the blazing fireplace. For a minute, the only sounds were the crackling of the coals in the fire and Papa's newspaper, and the women's knitting needles clacking. All the grownups' faces looked very concerned and thoughtful.

"Papa?" Marie-Grace asked timidly. She came to stand by him, and Papa showed her an article in the newspaper.

**MRS. WHITE FOUND DEAD!**

**"Mrs. Widow White," as known by many, was found dead, this morning, lying in her bed as though asleep. A kindly neighbor had found her there, and when the police arrived on the scene, they found that Mrs. White's expensive jewelry was missing. The jewelry is said to be an expensive necklace made of rare gold, with a ruby stone in the middle. Mrs. White also owns a bracelet matching it, and a few other rings and necklaces, including two twin, silver necklaces, which were all stolen.**

**Was Mrs. White murdered, and her jewelry stolen? After examining her, a nearby doctor, visiting Cairo, stated that no wound marks could be found. Was Mrs. White poisoned? Or did she simply die peacefully in her sleep, and a passerby thief took the extraordinarily coincidental moment to steal her jewels?**

"That's terrible!" Marie-Grace gasped, after she had read the article.

Alice, who had tiptoed over, and read the newspaper over Marie-Grace's shoulder, nodded in agreement. "Mrs. White is dead?" she asked her father.

Uncle Pierre nodded. He had just come in the house, and was holding an armful of firewood.

He stacked the wood in the corner of the room, then told Alice uncomfortably, "She was old anyway, Alice."

"But someone murdered her!" Alice went on.

"Alice!" Uncle Isabelle scolded. "The police say they are not sure if she was killed. No wound marks could be found on her."

"But someone may have poisoned her!" Alice argued. "It said so in the paper!"

Suddenly Marie-Grace had an idea. "Papa, did _you_ examine Mrs. White for wounds?" she asked. "Was that the errand you went on this morning?"

Papa nodded. "And not a knife slash or bullet hole could be seen," he reported, glancing at Alice.

"But her jewels were stolen," Alice insisted quietly, half to herself. "It only makes sense that she was murdered." She gasped. "But the police haven't caught the murderer yet!"

"No," Aunt Odette told her niece. "And we adults were just talking about it." She sighed. "Alice, if there is a murderer about, we want you children to be safe."

"Do Gilbert and Bruno know about the newspaper story?" Alice demanded eagerly. "And Édith an Elise?"

Aunt Odette nodded. "But," she continued, "if there is a murderer—"

Suddenly Gilbert came into the room.

"Papa," he gasped, "may Bruno and I try out the pond, for ice skating?"

Uncle Alex frowned. "Gilbert," he told the boy, "I am not sure that pond is safe. It is springtime, and the ice may be thawing."

"It's been frozen all winter!" Gilbert protested. "Bruno and I wanted to see if it was all right to ice skate on, so that the other children could ice skate, too." He grinned, sliding a look at Marie-Grace.

Marie-Grace felt her heart quicken. She wasn't sure about ice skating on the pond. And Uncle Alex said it may be thawing.

"Fine," Uncle Alex agreed, waving his hand. "You and Bruno may skate on the ice, to test it, then decide for the younger children. I trust you boys."

"Merci, Papa!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"But—" Aunt Odette began.

But Gilbert was already out the door.

Aunt Odette frowned. "We'll have to talk about this later," she muttered.

"Gilbert is not dressed warm enough," Aunt Isabelle pointed out, in French.

"I'm sure he'll put on an extra coat," Uncle Pierre assured his wife. "He is a smart boy."

"Yes," Uncle Alex murmured.

"Come with me," Alice whispered to Marie-Grace, and the girls slipped out the door.

– ❧ –

Outside, Alice told Marie-Grace, "Let's watch the boys ice skating! And when they say the pond is safe, we can ice skate!"

"What if the pond isn't safe?" Marie-Grace asked worriedly.

Alice pursed her lips. "It will be," she decided.

"I haven't ice skated much," Marie-Grace admitted.

Alice was surprised. "Well," she shrugged, "just watch the rest of us, and you'll catch on quickly. Do you have a pair of your own ice skates?" When Marie-Grace shook her head, Alice added, "You can borrow my old pair. You have pretty small feet."

Marie-Grace looked down at her feet. She hoped she could fit Alice's old ice skates.

The weather was cold out. Birds whistled faintly in the trees, and Marie-Grace saw some flowers peeking up through the dirt, as well as blossoms on the trees. It was still a cold spring, but Marie-Grace found herself surprised that the pond was frozen at all.

They came to the pond, and Marie-Grace saw it was a lot bigger than she had imagined.

Pine trees grew around the bank of the pond. Gilbert and Bruno were already skating on the frozen water, whooping gleefully. Marie-Grace shivered as she watched how fast they ice skated.

"It's solid frozen!" Gilbert called. "Get out your ice skates, everyone!"

He and Bruno circled toward the edge of the pond, then out in the middle again.

It was beautiful, Marie-Grace thought as she watched. They were such expert ice skaters.

Gilbert and Bruno spun in circles, laughing, and Marie-Grace thought how she envied them. Then Gilbert skated toward the edge of the pond—where the ice was sure to be thicker, Marie-Grace reflected. _When I skate I'll be sure to keep to the edge,_ she decided. But Bruno stayed out in the middle.

Just then a loud, cracking sound was heard over the pond. Alice gasped, and leaned forward on the bank, grabbing Marie-Grace's arm.

Marie-Grace didn't even flinch as her cousin's fingernails dug into her skin. She watched, mesmerized, as a large crack appeared on the ice.

Gilbert and Bruno both yelped, staggering backward, their arms flailing. But Gilbert was much closer to the bank than Bruno.

Then Bruno fell through the ice, his head sinking out of view.


	5. The Cabin in the Woods

5

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Gilbert instantly skated to the bank. He grabbed a large stick, then skated back toward the middle of the pond with the large crack running through it, where Bruno had fallen in.

When he was about five feet from the crack, he thrust himself on his stomach, then reached his arms out with the stick.

"Gilbert, he's fallen under!" Alice screamed. She rushed forward, without hesitation, despite Gilbert calling to warn her to stay back.

Marie-Grace grabbed Alice's arm, her heart pounding.

Alice screamed as Bruno didn't reappear, and then began crying.

Suddenly Bruno's arm shot up out of the icy water, and he tried to grab the edge of the frozen pond.

"Bruno, grab the stick!" Gilbert urged him, shouting.

But Bruno's hand slipped from the frozen edge of the pond, and he disappeared back underwater.

Alice was sobbing now. She clung to Marie-Grace, and Marie-Grace stared in horror at the pond, which her cousin was trapped underneath.

Marie-Grace waited, and didn't realize she had been holding her breath. She quickly gulped fresh air, then thought, _How can Bruno hold his breath so long?_

When Bruno appeared a third time, Gilbert thrust the stick at him. Bruno grabbed it with both his hands.

Gilbert pulled him out, slowly, as the girls watched from the bank.

When Bruno was safely out of the water, both girls cried out in relief.

Then Bruno slipped and fell on the ice, and slid back into the water.

"No!" Gilbert shouted, and jumped forward. The ice cracked under his weight, and in a second, he was gone.

Only a rippled remained where the two boys had been.

The girls were crying, and preparing to rush forward, when Gilbert and Bruno's heads appeared, gasping for breath. Gilbert grabbed hold of some ice on the pond, but his fingers were slipping, and he had to hold onto his younger brother.

This time both girls didn't hesitate when they leaped forward onto the ice and slipped on their shoes to the middle of the pond, where they laid on their stomachs and grabbed the stick, then thrust it at Gilbert.

Gilbert grabbed the stick and the girls heaved to pull him and Bruno out of the water. Marie-Grace was so scared, the stick felt like pulling a horse.

But finally Gilbert and Bruno were both safely out of the water.

"W-w-we have to get him d-d-dry!" Gilbert told Marie-Grace and Alice, still holding onto the back of Bruno's shirt. Gilbert needed to get dry, too. His teeth were chattering.

They hurried back through the woods and into Uncle Pierre's house. All the adults were at Aunt Lissie's house, so Uncle Pierre's cabin was vacant.

The boys wasted no time in getting to the bathroom. Marie-Grace and Alice sat on chairs by the fireplace, drying their eyes.

Marie-Grace heard hot water being poured into a tub, and in about ten minutes the boys came into the room, dry, and in clean clothes.

"How are we going to tell Papa?" Gilbert muttered.

Bruno looked gratefully at the girls. "Thank you for saving me. I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten out of the water if it weren't for you, after Gilbert jumped into the water."

Alice sniffed, and then rushed forward to hug her cousin. Marie-Grace did the same.

"Come on, we have to tell Papa," Gilbert told Bruno in a low voice.

All four of them walked to Aunt Lissie's house. The adults looked up as they entered through the door.

Aunt Odette narrowed her eyes, and asked the boys, "Why are you wearing different clothes?"

"And back so soon from the pond?" Uncle Alex teased, his brown eyes twinkling.

"Papa," Gilbert said, slowly, scuffing his shoe on the wood floor, "Bruno and I skated on the pond, and the ice cracked."

Aunt Odette gasped.

"Bruno fell through," Gilbert continued. He quickly added, "But I jumped in and grabbed him, and the girls pulled us out with a stick."

It was quiet in the room.

Uncle Alex suddenly asked, in a worried voice, "Are both of you all right?"

"We're fine, Papa," Bruno assured him.

Uncle Alex shook his head. "If the girls hadn't been there, where would you boys be?"

"At the bottom of the pond, frozen, by now," Aunt Odette said, her voice trembling.

"I'm sorry, Papa," Gilbert said softly, lowering his head. "I'm sorry, Maman."

Bruno offered his apologies, and Marie-Grace felt tears coming to her eyes, thinking what might have happened to the boys if she and Alice hadn't been there to pull them out. And what if the girls _hadn't_ been able to pull the boys out? Marie-Grace shivered. Also, she wondered if they would be punished, and what the punishment might be.

"I think the boys have had enough excitement for one day," Aunt Odette said, gently touching her husband's arm.

Uncle Alex told the boys in a firm voice, "I never intended to punish you. I just wish you would be more careful. I had trusted you, Gilbert, but now I'm disappointed. You should have known to test the ice first before skating on it." He sighed. "I'm only glad you're both safe."

Just then Marc came into the room. "The horse wants to run!" he cried out in French. Marie-Grace knew he meant the beautiful chestnut mare that she had seen in the barn.

"I will ride him to exercise him," Gilbert assured his brother, tousling Marc's hair.

"Let's go," Alice whispered. She headed out the door.

Marie-Grace followed her cousin as Alice walked slowly away from the house, heading farther into the woods, until Marie-Grace could no longer see the edge of town peeking out from the trees.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Alice took a deep breath. "I thought you might like to see Mrs. Davis's cabin that she used to live in with her husband, before he died."

Marie-Grace remembered the ghost stories about Mr. Davis, and inwardly shivered. Then she saw that Alice was smiling. She realized her cousin was teasing, trying to make her scared.

"Is it far from here?" Marie-Grace asked, determined to visit the cabin, so that Alice wouldn't think she was frightened.

"No," Alice said. She shook her head. "It's only about a half a mile from our house, and we've walked a long way already."

Soon, a wood cabin, like Marie-Grace's aunts' and uncles' houses, came into view.

It was a pretty cabin among the trees—but it looked abandoned, as if someone hadn't stepped through the door in years. And Marie-Grace realized that was just what it was, for Alice acted as though Mrs. Davis had been a widow a long time, and hadn't lived in the cabin for years.

There were cobwebs all over the porch and a rocking chair, which sat on the wood deck, rickety-looking from long hours in the sun and rain.

"It's lovely," Marie-Grace said aloud.

"Oui," Alice agreed. "But Mrs. Davis was so sad after her husband died that she couldn't bear continuing living in the house with memories of him all around."

"Why didn't anyone buy it?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Mrs. Davis never offered to sell it." Alice shrugged. She added, quietly, under her breath, "No one would want to, anyway."

"Do you mean the ghost stories?" Marie-Grace asked boldly, determined not to be frightened.

Alice nodded, a little sheepishly. She whispered, "But some people really claim to see a ghost in the woods. I've never seen a ghost, or a light inside the house, but Miss Marshal, at the bakery, said that once she was going on a walk through the woods, and she saw a light in the house. It was dim, but she saw it!"

Marie-Grace felt a chill go down her spine, and she glanced at the house, wondering if someone was watching her through the dirty windows, which she couldn't see in.

The girls were standing a few yards from the house. "Do you want to go in?" Alice asked, grinning.

"No thank you," Marie-Grace replied, in her calmest voice. "It looks dirty inside."

"It is," Alice told her matter-of-factly.

Marie-Grace gasped. "You've been inside?" she demanded.

"Yes," Alice said. "I went inside the house with Gilbert a few years ago. It was dirty, and all the furniture had dust on it. The house looked as if someone had left suddenly and it has been like that ever since—which it has. There are still curtains in the windows, and even a bed, with blankets on it, and a pillow."

Marie-Grace imagined the dirty, stone-silent house. She never wanted to enter it.

"Let's go," she urged. "It's getting cold outside anyway."

"All right," Alice agreed, rubbing her arms through her sweater. "We'll go back."

They turned, and Alice told Marie-Grace, "Tomorrow I'll show you the rest of the town. You only saw the bakery, the jewelry shop, and the bank—but we didn't go inside that. And you only met Miss Marshal, Mrs. Davis, and Mr. Gregory—and you saw Mayor Potts from a distance."

"And I met Betsy Anna Rogers," Marie-Grace reminded her.

"But I didn't introduce you two," Alice argued.

"_You_ were the one who said we had to rush back home," Marie-Grace reminded her again.

Alice sighed. "Let's go home," she said. She skipped ahead, keeping to the worn path beneath the girls' feet.

The cabin was now a long distance away, but Marie-Grace glanced back.

And, through the dirty, dust-streaked window, Marie-Grace thought she could see a dim glimmer of light.


	6. A Wanted Murderer

6

A WANTED MURDERER

"And that's the butcher's," Alice said, pointing to a shop with ducks, chickens, and pigs hanging in the window. She turned around to face Marie-Grace. "That's about all in Cairo, Illinois."

Marie-Grace hadn't heard much of what Alice had told her. Her cousin had talked on and on about the people who lived in each shop, who their families were, and where they lived, nonstop.

But Marie-Grace had noted each shop and store they had passed just as Alice told her the name of it.

Marie-Grace was mostly silent as she continued staring intently through the butcher's open shopwindow. She gazed at the large tin bowl in which the butcher—a large man who wore a soiled, white apron, with dark hair and a mustache—was busily placing pieces of cut meat.

Marie-Grace wondered why she was looking into the tin of the metal bowl. It sat feet away from her in the butcher's shop on a long counter. Her nose met with the smell of fresh meat.

Then she realized that she had recognized something in the bowl—a moving something. _Someone. _It was Mr. Stevens, the boat _Liberty_'s pilot. She saw his reflection in the metal clearly; then Marie-Grace shifted on her feet a bit, squinting, and the sun's rays hit the bowl, blinding her a for moment.

Marie-Grace winced, then whirled around, determined to say hello to Mr. Stevens, as she hadn't been able to do so when she'd seen him at the bank earlier—but there was a large crowd of people milling about. Mr. Stevens was already lost in it.

Marie-Grace was about to mention it to her cousin when Alice suddenly gasped and said, "Look at this!"

Marie-Grace went toward her cousin, who was staring at a sheet of paper nailed to a post, with a frightened look on her face.

A man's portrait was drawn on the paper. Marie-Grace thought he looked scary, with tiny, beady-black eyes, and thin, light-brown hair on top of his head. To top it all off he wore a scraggly beard.

"Read it!" Alice urged.

Marie-Grace read aloud, " 'Wanted Murderer' . . ." and she faltered.

Alice continued reading about the wanted criminal: Marie Grace learned he was wanted in several different states, for thievery and murder. His name was Clancy Bond, and he was thirty-five years old. He was last seen, armed, in a town not far from Cairo, and citizens were warned to stay away from him and report him if he was sighted.

Marie-Grace shivered and whispered to Alice, "What if he's in Cairo now?"

"Why, that's nonsense, of course," a voice behind Marie-Grace answered briskly.

The girls turned and saw Mr. Rupert Anon standing behind them, staring intently at the poster.

"How do you know it's nonsense, mister?" Alice demanded. "He could be staying right in the Cairo hotel!"

"Of course not," Mr. Anon scoffed.

"And why not?" Alice argued loudly, not at all intimidated by the man.

"Because," Mr. Anon scowled, "the police would surely know if there was a criminal in Cairo—and Clancy Bond, of all people!"

Mr. Anon acted as though Clancy Bond was a famous musician or author. He even seemed a bit excited about the possibility of him in Cairo.

"Alice, this is Mr. Rupert Anon," Marie-Grace introduced them. "Mr. Anon, this is my cousin."

"Ah, Pierre's daughter?" Mr. Anon asked in his heavy accent.

Alice stepped back from Mr. Anon and leaned against the wood post, her back pressing against the wanted poster. "Yes," she answered uncertainly. She looked at Marie-Grace. "Do you know this man?"

"He is an old friend of my father's," Marie-Grace explained. "He met me and Papa on the boat when we arrived at Cairo. He told us he would be staying in Cairo's at the hotel, for a while." She looked at Mr. Anon, then back to Alice, and said quietly to her cousin, "I hadn't seen him on the boat before, so I think he boarded at the last stop, before Cairo."

"That I did," Mr. Anon told her briskly. He looked back to the wanted poster and peered closer. "But I am sure this Mr. Bond fellow isn't in Cairo."

"You can never be sure," Alice argued.

"Why, yes, in fact, I _am_ sure, young lady," Mr. Anon replied hotly, wagging a finger at her.

"How do you know?" Alice demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "Did you ask Clancy Bond himself?"

Mr. Anon seemed flustered at the question, then shouted something at Alice in French so quickly and angrily that Marie-Grace couldn't make it out—then just as quickly, he stomped away, kicking up dust with his polished black leather boots.

"What did he say?" Marie-Grace whispered, leaning close to Alice.

Alice looked at Marie-Grace, surprised. "You didn't hear? I thought you could speak French."

"I don't speak it _very_ well," Marie-Grace admitted.

"He called me a rude, disrespectful, impossible girl."

Marie-Grace thought the insults were horrifying, but Alice giggled. "He thought I was impossible!" She grinned. "I bet Mr. Anon has never met a more stubborn girl than me." Marie-Grace was even more horrified when she thought she could detect a hint of pride in her cousin's voice.

"You _are_ quite stubborn," Marie-Grace admitted. She added, thinking, _And argumentative._

"Papa is stubborn, too," Alice told Marie-Grace. "I suppose I get it from him." She sighed. "But I think we should be heading home now." She trudged forward, slowly, kicking up dust in the streets with her shoes.

Marie-Grace caught up with her cousin. "Are you all right?" Maybe Mr. Anon's insults had affected Alice, after all.

"I was thinking about this morning," Alice said. "When the boys fell through the ice at the pond."

"Oh," Marie-Grace said. "Well, I'm glad they're not hurt. And your uncle didn't punish them."

"But we won't be able to ice skate now!" Alice protested. "I had been hoping to lend you my old ice skates, and we would have had so much fun!"

Marie-Grace was quiet. She hadn't thought of the fact that they wouldn't be able to skate now, but secretly she was relieved. She had always been a little afraid of ice skating, ever since she had skated when she was younger, and hurt her knee.

"When I visit again, if it's winter, you can show me how to skate then," Marie-Grace comforted her cousin.

Alice ginned. "You'll be visiting us again?"

"Of course!" Marie-Grace told her.

She thought more about the wanted poster for the murderer as they walked home. Clancy Bond had seemed very frightening. Marie-Grace knew she would rather skate on the pond any day than meet—or even catch sight of—the criminal.

But what if Clancy Bond _was_ in Cairo? Would he try to steal something? Or . . .

Marie-Grace gasped.

"What is it?" Alice asked, turning to her in alarmed.

"Alice," Marie-Grace said slowly, "remember Mrs. White was found dead, and the police weren't sure if she had just died peacefully in her sleep, because her jewelry was been stolen? The police thought maybe someone had poisoned her so they could steal her jewels."

"Oh . . ." Alice said, catching on, her face turning pale. "You think that—?"

"Yes," Marie-Grace interrupted grimly. "Maybe the murderer, Clancy Bond, killed her."


	7. Mayor Potts's Funeral

7

MAYOR POTTS'S FUNERAL

"But how could Clancy Bond kill Mrs. White?" Alice demanded. "No wound marks were found on her. Your father examined her himself."

"The police thought she might have been poisoned," Marie-Grace replied.

Alice shook her head. "That doesn't seem like Clancy Bond—he's a cold-blooded murderer. Why would he poison an old lady when he could just stab her or shoot her?"

Marie-Grace was horrified by her cousin's casual tone of voice. She took a deep breath before answering. "It would be smarter to poison someone. Then the police couldn't be sure if they had been murdered. And Clancy Bond _did_ look clever as well as cruel from his picture in the wanted poster."

When her cousin didn't respond Marie-Grace urged, "Let's hurry home. I'm frightened now."

"So am I," Alice admitted. She shivered. "If there's a murderer loose in town then I'm staying close to home until he's caught."

As the girls passed the bank, they saw a crowd of people standing nearby.

"Look, what are they doing?" Alice wondered aloud.

The girls could see the mayor bending over something in the bank through a window.

"The mayor's signing legal papers about collecting money for the town, and some people don't like it!" a woman explained to the girls.

"Why wouldn't they mind giving money for the town?" Alice asked, confused.

"Because the mayor is forcing the people to pay the money," the woman replied.

Marie-Grace spied Mr. Anon in the crowd. He was studying Mayor Potts through the window, looking thoughtful. He shifted on his black boots.

Also, Marie-Grace saw Mrs. Davis from the bakery, and Miss Marshal. Miss Marshal stood nearby, as well as Mr. Stevens. Betsy Anna Rogers was standing daintily at the edge of the crowd in her white boots, holding a parasol.

Betsy Anna grinned as she saw Alice and Marie-Grace. She came over toward them haughtily.

"Uh-oh," Alice muttered under her breath.

"Should we go home?" Marie-Grace whispered to her.

"Yes," Alice said immediately, but Betsy was too close now.

"I suppose you've heard about the mayor signing these papers," Betsy told them, sidling next to the girls. "I've heard some people say they wish they could burn the papers, they are so mad."

"Why would that change anything?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Because then the mayor's signature on the documents wouldn't be there, and so he couldn't make everyone in town pay money."

"So he'll have to put the papers somewhere safe?" Marie-Grace guessed.

"Yes," Betsy said, pursing her lips. "Most likely in the bank." She put a hand to her forehead to shade her eyes from the sun. "Where do you live, Marie-Grace?"

"I live in New Orleans," Marie-Grace answered politely. Marie-Grace was starting to see why Alice didn't like this girl. She seemed nosy.

"Oh, my mother and I have _shopped_ there," Betsy said, rolling her eyes. "Such a quaint little town. And your father is Doctor Gardner?"

"Yes, he's my Uncle Pierre's and Aunt Odette's brother," Marie-Grace said.

"But we have to go home now!" Alice hurriedly announced.

"Maybe you could visit me sometime while you are staying here," Betsy offered to Marie-Grace sweetly.

Marie-Grace just had time to doubtfully reply "Maybe—" when Alice pulled her away.

"That's not very smart of Mayor Potts to sign those documents and make everybody mad at him," Alice murmured, as the girls headed toward the houses in the woods.

"Do you think someone might be so mad they'd try to hurt him?" Marie-Grace gasped.

"Maybe," Alice said, shrugging.

As soon as they entered Aunt Isabelle's house, Marie-Grace's aunt said to them from the fireplace, where she was stoking the coals, "Oh, girls, I had wanted to make an apple pie for supper, but I'm out of butter. Do you think you two could run back to town and get some from the store?"

"Yes, Maman," Alice sighed.

Aunt Isabelle handed them some money and Marie-Grace and Alice walked back to town.

"I'm getting tired of all this walking," Alice complained.

"Me, too," Marie-Grace agreed. It had taken them a while to walk back to town, and as Marie-Grace glanced back toward the bank, she saw most of the people were gone now—and she couldn't see Mayor Potts through the window anymore.

"Look, Mr. Anon is still standing by the bank," Alice pointed out, pointing to the man.

He stood staring at the building intently, as if studying it.

Marie-Grace and Alice walked to a shop and bought butter, and then walked home.

Aunt Isabelle asked for the girls' help to bake a pie with her, so Marie-Grace peeled apples and Alice chopped them into small squares, while Aunt Isabelle rolled out the pie crust.

They put the pie in the oven to bake, and as Aunt Isabelle was checking to see if the bread for supper was finished baking, Alice and Marie-Grace set the table, using dishes from the cabinet in the dining room.

– ❧ –

The next morning Marie-Grace woke up late, and she still felt tired. Alice was gone from her spot in the bed.

Marie-Grace hopped up to dress when her cousin came in the room.

Alice wasn't smiling as usual. She was solemn, and told Marie-Grace in a grave voice, "The mayor was killed last night."

"What?" Marie-Grace gasped. "Mayor Potts was killed?"

"And the papers were stolen!" Alice cried. "The documents that he signed yesterday!"

"What happened?" Marie-Grace asked, sitting down hard on the edge of the bed.

Alice sat down beside her and took a deep breath. "I just heard the news. Papa read it in the newspaper. This morning, Mayor Potts was found lying on the floor of the bank. He was proclaimed shot after a doctor had examined him."

"Was it Papa?" Marie-Grace asked, thinking of how her father had examined Mrs. White.

Alice shook her head. "It was another doctor. But he said it was a bullet wound, no doubt."

"Why wouldn't the mayor be in his house last night, in bed?" Marie-Grace asked, confused.

"He told a friend of his that he was going to check something at the bank. His friend assumed that he was checking on the papers he had signed," Alice continued. She lowered her voice. "And the documents were stolen! The police checked the bank's safe, where the papers were placed yesterday, and they were gone." Alice shook her head. "I knew nothing good could come out of this. But Mayor Potts was _killed_!" She shuddered. "And my mother said we are going to attend his funeral today."

"Will Papa and I go, too?" Marie-Grace asked.

Alice shrugged. "I think so."

Elise poked her head in the girls' room. "I suppose you've heard the news?" she asked, looking from her sister to Marie-Grace.

They both nodded.

"Well, we'll be going to Mayor Potts's funeral this afternoon," Elise said, "so get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready."

Marie-Grace dressed in a black cotton dress, matching Alice's clothes, and after breakfast Uncle Pierre hitched the carriage to a horse from the barn. They needed two carriages, though, to fit everyone, so Uncle Alex hitched up his own carriage. They all rode to town, wearing black mourning clothes.

Most everyone in town was attending the funeral.

As the pastor from Cairo's church preached a sermon over the newly-dug grave, Marie-Grace glanced toward the bank in the distance, which she could see because it was close to the graveyard.

She could spy a sheriff and policemen standing guard around the bank. Marie-Grace supposed they were investigating, trying to find clues to who had murdered Mayor Potts.

Suddenly Marie-Grace gasped. Alice, who was standing closest to her, whispered, "What is it?"

Marie-Grace shook her head and whispered under her breath, "I just thought of something."

Alice looked at her cousin curiously, but the girls remained quiet through the rest of the funeral.

Aunt Isabelle and Aunt Odette had brought flowers, which they placed gently on the grave, as did other women and children. Then people began to leave, driving away in carriages and wagons. Marie-Grace noticed that no one seemed angry at the mayor now, like some people in the crowd in front of the bank had, yesterday. They all seemed sad now.

Marie-Grace learned from Alice, as they drove home, that the mayor had no family. Marie-Grace thought that was better. Then no poor wife or children would be mourning this day for the death of Mayor Potts.

As soon as they arrived at the houses, Marie-Grace and Alice climbed out of the carriage.

"Grace," Papa called to Marie-Grace, as they walked toward Aunt Lissie's, Uncle Pierre and Aunt Isabelle's, and Uncle Alex and Aunt Odette's cabins, "are you enjoying staying with Alice?"

"Oh, yes, Papa!" Marie-Grace said, nodding vigorously. She realized she had spent more time with Alice than Papa lately, since they had arrived in Cairo.

"Aunt Lisette always has an extra bedroom," Papa offered. "If you ever want to stay there . . ."

"I like it fine with Alice," Marie-Grace told him firmly.

Her cousin rushed toward her at that moment. She had been talking with Édith. "Come on, Marie-Grace!" Alice said.

They went to Uncle Pierre's house and into Alice's bedroom.

"Why did you gasp at the funeral?" Alice demanded, seating herself on the bed.

"I thought of something," Marie-Grace told her, sitting down in a chair across from her. "I thought," she said slowly, "that, what if the same person who killed Mrs. White—"

"You don't know for sure if Mrs. White was killed!" Alice protested.

"But, if she was," Marie-Grace continued, "what if that same person had murdered Mayor Potts?"

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, jumping to the floor. Then she sat back down on her bed again. "You think it's that Clancy Bond fellow, don't you?"

"Yes!" Marie-Grace exclaimed. "It all makes sense. I think the murderer is here in Cairo. The day Papa and I arrived, Clancy Bond—" at a warning look from Alice, Marie-Grace quickly corrected herself "—_the murderer_—murdered Mrs. White, and stole her jewels. Then he killed Mayor Potts and took the papers he was signing."

"Why would he do that?" Alice asked.

Marie-Grace shrugged. "He's a criminal. Why do criminals do the things they do?"

"Well, we should tell the police!" Alice decided.

"No!" Marie-Grace protested. "We don't have any proof! And we haven't even seen Clancy in Cairo. He might be staying at the hotel with Mr Edwards and Mr. Anon, for all we know—but the police would laugh at us if we told them that, because we are not sure."

"All right," Alice huffed. "But we need to find some proof against this criminal, or else he might kill more people!"

"I'm not going outside of this house until he's caught," Marie-Grace agreed, shivering.

"Well, you'll have to, because we have to find some proof for the police so he _will_ be caught. And there's no way to do that just sitting around here!"

Alice stood up and marched toward the door, and Marie-Grace asked, "Where are you going?"

Alice opened the door before turning back to her cousin. "To the bank. Maybe we'll find some clues about Mayor Potts's murder there."


	8. Investigations

8

INVESTIGATIONS

The girls hurried to the bank, and every time Marie-Grace saw a man that resembled Clancy Bond's picture from the wanted poster, even the slightest bit, she jumped—until Alice assured her that the man was just "Mr. Simon, the butcher" or "Old Mr. Simpson, who's lived in town for fifty years."

When they arrived they saw that a few police were still standing around the bank, though not as many as there had been earlier.

The girls started circling the building, looking for any clues.

A police officer came over to them and barked gruffly, "What are you girls doing here?" when Alice was just whispering for Marie-Grace to bend down so she could step on her shoulders to look through a window.

"We're trying to find out what happened to Mayor Potts," Alice answered honestly, clasping her hands together behind her back.

The officer chuckled. "That's what we're here for, girls."

"Can't we just look around?" Alice begged.

The man hesitated. "I suppose," he finally agreed. "But don't go inside the building."

"Can't we even peek in the door?" Alice begged.

"All right, you may just step through the door," the officer agreed. "But stay outside mostly."

"And may we ask a few questions?" Marie-Grace asked politely.

"What are they?" the officer asked.

Marie-Grace began, "Where was the mayor when he was found the next morning?"

"At the back door," the officer told them.

Before Marie-Grace could ask another question Alice tugged at her hand, quickly saying, "Thank you!" to the policeman. They hurried around to the back door of the bank.

"One of the mayor's friends said that he thought Mayor Potts was checking on the papers in the bank. I wonder how the thief got the documents if they were in a bank safe?"

"What if Mayor Potts took them out of the safe to look at them, and that's when the person murdered him?" Marie-Grace suggested. "Then the person wouldn't even have to open the safe, because the mayor would have opened it for him."

"Yes!" Alice grew excited. "But," she pointed out, "you keep saying 'the person' or 'him' for the murderer. I'm sure it's Clancy Bond."

"If he's in Cairo," Marie-Grace reminded her.

"Hmm," Alice said, looking thoughtfully up into the blue sky. "But the officer said Mayor Potts was found at the backdoor lying on the ground. Why would he be at the backdoor, when the safe that held the documents is most likely in the front of the bank?"

They came to the backdoor, which looked ordinary. There was a large bush with thick leaves near, sitting beside the steps at the door, and a thick-trunked tree a few feet off.

"I don't understand it!" Marie-Grace sighed in frustration. "The only possibility is that something made Mayor Potts come to the backdoor with the documents, and then . . . maybe the person—Clancy Bond, perhaps—took the chance to kill him, and take the papers."

"No!" Alice shook her head. "I'm sure it was plotted out. The murderer couldn't possibly have just been near the backdoor of the bank at the time and known that Mayor Potts had the papers. Maybe Clancy Bond caused a distraction that led the mayor to come to the backdoor, and then he killed him and stole the papers?"

"How could he distract him, and then kill him?" Marie-Grace asked. She pointed out, "It would make more sense to sneak up behind the mayor to kill him, and you couldn't do that if you were busy causing a distraction . . ."

She and Alice gasped and looked at each other. They cried at the same time, "There were two people!"

Alice said, "It only makes sense! Someone was helping Clancy Bond!"

"Yes, one person caused a distraction so the mayor would come to the backdoor, and then the other person—Clancy Bond—murdered him, and they took the documents."

"But who could the other person be?" Alice wondered, her eyebrows furrowing.

"It must be someone in Cairo," Marie-Grace said. She glanced down at her feet and then her eyes flitted to the ground where something sat near her shoes.

"I wonder why anyone would want the documents, anyway?" Alice mused aloud.

Marie-Grace was hardly listening. She was studying the footprints in the dirt that led to the bush near the backdoor. "Alice, look at this!" she exclaimed.

Alice glanced down and shrugged. "The footprints could have been made by the police officers."

"But these prints have a pointed toe! I don't think the officers were wearing pointed shoes or boots. We can check when we leave."

"But it could have been anybody!" Alice protested. "Anyway, I'm still wondering how someone distracted the mayor."

"Let's look for clues," Marie-Grace suggested.

They searched all around, and tried to open the backdoor, but it was locked.

Alice looked around and spied the thick tree that stood several feet from the door. "Look, Marie-Grace!" she said. "There are footprints here, which lead to the tree, and two prints are deep in the dirt behind the tree, which means the person who left them must have stood there for a while."

Marie-Grace bent to examine the large bush near the backdoor steps. She pulled out a long piece of string from the leaves. "I found something, Alice," she told her cousin.

Alice came to stand by her. "It's a piece of string," she said, looking at it uninterestedly.

"But this might be what they used to distract Mayor Potts!" Marie-Grace cried excitedly.

At Alice's confused expression, Marie-Grace sighed. "Look," she said, and pushed Alice near the door. "You are Clancy Bond." Marie-Grace took an end of the string. The other end, she had noticed, was tied to a branch in the bush, so Marie-Grace knew that it hadn't just accidentally fallen there from a passerby. Someone had deliberately tied it to the bush.

Marie-Grace then went behind the tree until she was invisible to Alice, the string still clutched in her hand. "And it is dark out," Marie-Grace reminded Alice. "So you won't be able to see the string." From her cousin's silent response, Marie-Grace could tell she was still puzzled.

Marie-Grace gave the rope a tug, which made the bush shake, the leaves shaking loudly. "And it was hot last night," she went on, "so maybe the window was open." She paused dramatically. "Then Mayor Potts comes to see what the noise is, and Clancy Bond is waiting in the shadows behind the door—" Marie-Grace stopped abruptly as Alice's head popped into view beside the tree.

"I understand!" Alice sounded excitedly. "It all makes sense!"

She rushed off, leaving Marie-Grace to untie the string and put it in her pocket. But then she thought better of it, thinking the officers might want it as evidence, so she dropped it back in the bush.

Marie-Grace found Alice near the front of the bank, asking the same officer they had talked to before, "You're sure the window was open when Mayor Potts was found?"

The man scratched his head. "Now that I think of it, yes, it was open."

"Thank you!" Alice said. She came to Marie-Grace's side and whispered, "Their shoes aren't pointed. Maybe the footprints were from Clancy Bond's partner after all."

The girls decided their work was finished, and went back to Uncle Pierre's house, into Alice's room.

"Now we have to figure out who is helping Clancy Bond," Alice decided. "Although I'm sure the criminal murdered the mayor."

"I think so, too," Marie-Grace agreed. "But we don't know for sure. It didn't have to be Clancy Bond—the murder and theft could have been by two men we don't even know."

Alice sighed. "And to think the person helping Clancy Bond might be a citizen of Cairo! Do you remember anyone at the bank in the crowd yesterday? My memory isn't too good."

Marie-Grace thought carefully for a minute then nodded. "I should write it down," she decided.

Alice took out a piece of paper and a pen from a drawer. Marie-Grace wrote:

_Mrs. Davis_

_Miss Marshal_

_Betsy Anna Rogers_

_Mr. Anon_

"It's not Betsy!" Alice cried. "She is bossy, but she would never help a criminal. She's just a girl!"

"I know there were a lot more people," Marie-Grace said, frustrated, "but I can only remember those four, for sure."

"And I don't think a woman would help Clancy Bond," Alice added.

Marie-Grace crossed out the three, and there was only one name left.

_Mr. Anon_

"Oh, it must be him!" Alice cried excitedly. "I don't like him, and he was rude to me."

"But he is an old friend of my papa's," Marie-Grace protested. "I don't think he would do such a thing." She hesitated. "I don't like him, either, but I just don't think it's him."

"Can you remember anyone else?" Alice asked.

Marie-Grace slowly shook her head. "Not right now, anyway," she said. "I'm sure I could remember some people if I thought about it." She closed her eyes a moment, quietly sitting on her Alice's bed next to her cousin.

She thought about the people in the crowd at the bank. She knew more people were there . . . but it was all fuzzy. Then she remembered Mr. Anon staring intently at the bank.

Marie-Grace opened her eyes and said slowly, "I think Mr. Anon was looking at the bank yesterday. He seemed to be studying it."

Alice clapped her hands together. "I knew it was him! He was studying it for the job he and Clancy Bond would do that night! Now we just need some proof for the police."

"But we have no proof," Marie-Grace told her. "We know that two men murdered Mayor Potts, and there was the string at the bank, but I left it in the bush. We don't even know for sure if it's Mr. Anon."

"What about his shoes?" Alice inquired. "Were they pointed?"

"I remember he was wearing black boots," Marie-Grace answered slowly. "I can't remember if the toes were pointed, but it's possible."

"We need to look at his shoes," Alice decided.

"But what if the toes aren't pointed?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Well," Alice shrugged, "he could be wearing different shoes now. It still doesn't rule him out."

"Also," Marie-Grace said, "I've been thinking about Mrs. White's jewels. What if they were sold after they were stolen?"

Alice gasped. "Oh, what if they were sold to Mr. Gregory's jewelry store!"

"That's just what I was thinking." Marie-Grace nodded firmly. "We should check at the store tomorrow."

"But we still don't know if Mrs. White's jewels being stolen and Mayor Potts's murder are connected," Alice reminded.

"Yes, but we still need to find out who stole Mrs. White's jewels," Marie-Grace pointed out. "If we find jewels matching the description of Mrs. White's in the newspaper at Mr. Gregory's shop tomorrow, then we can ask him who sold them to him."

"And we'll have our thief!" Alice finished excitedly.


	9. A Visit to the Jewelry Shop

9

A VISIT TO THE JEWELRY SHOP

It was early when the girls woke the next morning; the sun's rays were just peeking through Alice's bedroom window. Marie-Grace and Alice hurriedly dressed and ate breakfast, eager to go to town to begin their search.

Just as the two were finishing up their porridge, André, Alice's little sister, asked, "Alice, can you and Marie-Grace take me outside to play?"

Alice sighed. "No, André," she told the little girl. "Marie-Grace and I are busy."

André whimpered. "I want to play," she complained.

"Alice, take your sister outside to play for a few minutes," Aunt Isabelle ordered. She passed a bowel of oatmeal to Gilbert. "It will only be a little while." Marie-Grace's aunt smiled kindly at her. "And you can join them if you like, Marie-Grace."

Marie-Grace nodded enthusiastically. Although she was eager to get to Mr. Gregory's jewelry store so she and Alice could search for Mrs. White's stolen jewelry there, she didn't mind playing with little André for a bit.

In a few minutes Alice, André, and Marie-Grace were outside. André wanted to look for flowers to pick in the woods, so Marie-Grace and Alice watched as the little girl darted between the trees, stooping often to pick daisies, wild roses, daffodils, and fern leaves to put in the bouquet she had created.

"We shouldn't be going back this far in the woods," Alice said nervously.

Marie-Grace agreed. Secretly, she had never forgot the boys' ghost stories about Mr. Davis, or the glimmer of light she'd seen in the cabin, and she felt a bit scared.

"André, we didn't tell Maman we would be going back so far in the woods!" Alice called to her little sister.

The little, carefree girl paid no attention to her older sister, and skipped behind a large tree and disappeared from sight. When she didn't reappear a few moments later, Alice called in a panicked voice, "André!"

She and Marie-Grace ran to the tree, and when they looked behind it they saw Alice a few yards away, skipping deeper into the woods.

"André!" Alice called, but André seemed to be out of earshot from them.

Marie-Grace and Alice continued to follow the girl, and once they thought they had lost her, then spied her again a ways off.

When they finally caught her, Alice took her sister's arm firmly gave it a rough shake. "André, we shouldn't be this far in the woods!" she scolded. "What were you thinking, running off like that? What would Maman say?"

"But look!" André said, blinking her big blue eyes. She held up a large bouquet of beautiful flowers and fern leaves.

"That's pretty," Marie-Grace told her kindly, smiling.

Suddenly Marie-Grace looked up and saw the old Davis cabin close by.

"Oh, my, Alice, look!" Marie-Grace said, pointing. "We're much farther in the woods than I thought!"

Alice looked at the cabin and shrugged, still holding her sister's hand tightly. "Should we take a look at it?" she asked.

Marie-Grace didn't reply, so the three girls walked hesitantly toward the cabin. André whimpered and clutched her bouquet.

Alice suddenly gasped. "There are men inside!" she whispered in a strangled voice. She grabbed Marie-Grace's hand and pulled the three of them close to a tree.

"Why are there men inside the cabin?" Marie-Grace hissed to her cousin.

Alice whispered, "Maybe they're poorly, rough men. We should leave."

They crept slowly away. Marie-Grace glanced back at the cabin once, and she could see the figures of two men through the window. One of the men came quite close to the window, and Marie-Grace was able to make out his dark hair and tall figure.

She wasn't sure why, but the man reminded her of someone; though she couldn't make out his face through the dirty window. The other man was a bit back from the window, but he was obviously much bigger than the dark-haired man, though not much taller.

When they came back to the house, Alice whispered to André, "Don't tell Maman about the men in the cabin."

"Why not?" André asked.

"Because," Alice said, "I think those were rough men. The news would upset Maman—and we had been deep in the woods without her permission, too."

"All right," André agreed reluctantly. She looked down at her flowers and smiled. "I'll give these to Maman!"

"But don't tell her about the men in the cabin!" Alice reminded, putting a finger to her lips.

André shook her head. "I won't." She skipped into the house.

Alice followed after her little sister, but stopped when she got to the door. She glanced over her shoulder and told Marie-Grace, "I'll tell my mother we are going to town. Then we can look in the jewelry shop, and try to get a look at Mr. Anon's boots if we see him!"

She went inside, and was gone for a few minutes.

Marie-Grace waited outside patiently in the cold weather, shivering and stamping her feet to keep warm. _I'm sure that tall, dark-haired man reminded me of someone,_ she thought. _The other man was much bigger. I'm glad they didn't see us! They were probably rough men, like Alice said!_

Just then Alice came back outside. She announced excitedly, "My mother says we may go to town! But we must return by noon, for the meal."

"All right," Marie-Grace said.

They walked down the path. Alice said, "My mother didn't seem very happy about us going to town. Ever since Mayor Potts's murder, she has been nervous about town. I'm glad she said yes, though. If she said no, we might never get to go to the jewelry store!"

"And Papa and I are only staying a more few weeks, or maybe even just one week," Marie-Grace reminded.

Alice was quiet. Finally she said, "And you've already been here four days."

"We need to find proof that Clancy Bond murdered the mayor and tell the police before I leave," Marie-Grace said. She added, silently, _If the murderer _is_ Clancy Bond._

"And we need proof against Mr. Anon, too!" Alice said. "I'm sure he's helping the criminal."

Marie-Grace felt hesitant.

They walked straight to the jewelry shop when they arrived in Cairo. Marie-Grace and Alice saw Mr. Gregory at his jewelry counter, through a window in the shop, before they stepped through the door.

The old man looked at them with a bright smile. "Good morning, girls!" he said.

They said their good-mornings to him, then Alice asked immediately, "Mr. Gregory, have you been sold any jewelry the last few days?" And she described Mrs. White's jewelry, from the newspaper.

Marie-Grace leaned against the counter, putting her elbow near a gold necklace.

Mr. Gregory thought a moment. "I'm not sure," he told them. He scratched the side of his graying head. "I make most of the jewelry in this shop, but sometimes people do sell some old jewels of theirs. I only buy it, though, if it's expensive or rare," he added proudly.

"You don't remember anyone selling you any jewelry?" Alice asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"I don't remember for sure the specific jewelry you mentioned," Mr. Gregory told them. "But," he quickly added, "a dark-haired man came in a few days ago and sold me some jewels."

"Was it the day before yesterday?" Alice asked.

"I don't remember." Mr. Gregory shook his head. "I'm sorry, girls, my memory is poor at my age."

Alice sighed. "Well, thank you, Mr. Gregory." She and Marie-Grace prepared to leave the shop, when Marie-Grace's coat sleeve caught the gold necklace on the counter.

She gasped as it slid off the counter, falling onto the floor.

"Be careful!" Mr. Gregory shouted, and rushed out from behind the counter, taking up the necklace. It had a beautiful ruby stone in the middle, and Marie-Grace was relieved when it appeared to be unbroken.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Gregory," Marie-Grace apologized.

"Be more careful, next time," he ordered angrily, putting the necklace back on the counter, and beginning to examine it.

Marie-Grace studied the necklace from behind Mr. Gregory's fingers as he slid his hands along the chain, and felt the ruby stone.

Suddenly she gasped. She and Alice were near the door, and Marie-Grace whispered, "Alice, doesn't that necklace look like the one Mrs. White owned, described in the newspaper?"

Alice peered at it, then nodded. "Yes," she said slowly, grinning. She rushed over to Mr. Gregory before Marie-Grace could stop her, and asked, "Mr. Gregory, where did you get that necklace?"

"From the dark-haired man I told you about—" he began. Then his eyes grew big and he clamped his mouth shut.

"I thought you said your memory was poor," Marie-Grace accused, coming to stand by her cousin.

"Well, I remembered _him_," Mr. Gregory muttered under his breath.

"What was so different about his that you remembered?" Alice inquired suspiciously.

Mr. Gregory hesitated, then finally said, "He was quite tall." Then he ordered brusquely, "Now go outside, girls! I have to tend to this necklace."

The girls hurried outside. As soon as they were through the door, Marie-Grace stated, "I'm sure that's Mrs. White's necklace!"

"And Mr. Gregory seems to know something about it," Alice agreed. Her eyes widened. "Do you think he knows it was stolen?"

A new idea came to Marie-Grace. "What is he's helping the criminal!" she cried.

"No." Alice shook her head. "Mr. Gregory is grouchy sometimes, when it comes to his jewelry, but he wouldn't steal from an old woman or murder anyone."

"He seemed to know something about that necklace," Marie-Grace murmured again.

"And the dark-haired man was the one who sold it to him." She grinned. "Mr. Anon is dark-haired. I bet it's him!"

"Many people are dark-haired!" Marie-Grace protested.

"_And_ he's tall," Alice went on. She stopped walking down the street, away from the jewelry shop, and froze rigidly. "There he is!" she cried.

Mr. Anon was walking down the street casually, wearing his black-polished boots.

"I can't see if the toes are pointed," Marie-Grace whispered.

"Let's go toward him," Alice suggested.

The girls walked slowly toward Mr. Anon, and the dark-haired man glanced suspiciously at them before the girls ran off in the opposite direction.

"He didn't have pointed toes on his shoes!" Marie-Grace gasped out, when they were out of his hearing. She was breathless from running.

"I'm sure he . . . changed his shoes," Alice panted. "I still think it's him."

Marie-Grace glanced down the street. "Look!" she said. "He is headed to the bank."

"Let's see what he's doing," Alice suggested.

They came a bit closer, then leaned against a shop and watched as Mr. Anon studied the bank, just as he had been doing on the day the crowd had been there about Mayor Potts, Marie-Grace realized.

Then he glanced down at the bush beside the backdoor.

"He's looking at the bush!" Alice cried excitedly. "He's probably making sure there is no evidence that he and Clancy Bond were there."

"But can't he see the string?" Marie-Grace asked.

Alice shook her head. "Probably not. Maybe it's not there anymore. You left it; maybe the police found it."

Marie-Grace sighed, frustrated. "We still don't have any real proof against Mr. Anon!" She suddenly realized that all of her earlier doubt about whether he was helping Clancy Bond or not was gone. She was certain of it now.

"We'll just have to think of something." Alice sighed, too.

The girls stood quietly for a moment, lost in their thoughts.

Marie-Grace glanced back at Mr. Anon again, but he was gone. Instead she saw Mr. Stevens walking along the bank. Marie-Grace realized she hadn't talked to the boat pilot since she'd been on the _Liberty_, and he hadn't visited her or Papa. Marie-Grace felt a bit hurt by this.

Alice looked up at the sky and squinted her eyes. "We should go home now. I think it's noon."

Marie-Grace followed her cousin as they walked away down the street of Cairo.


	10. Following in the Dark

10

FOLLOWING IN THE DARK

When they came home, Marie-Grace and Alice helped Aunt Isabelle and Aunt Odette and the other girls make supper in Aunt Lissie's kitchen. Marie-Grace peeled potatoes, while Alice cut carrots. They were having mashed potatoes, pot roast, and vegetables for supper. There was also a strawberry cake baking in the oven, for dessert.

After they had finished their work, Marie-Grace and Alice set the table while André, the older girls, and women finished with supper.

When they were ready, everyone sat down at the table.

"We've been eating in Aunt Lissie's house ever since Marie-Grace and Uncle Thaddeus came," Marc noted.

Aunt Isabelle ruffled his sandy hair and said, "Oui, Marc, but don't you like eating here?"

The little boy nodded enthusiastically, and Marie-Grace smiled. She liked eating at Aunt Lisette's for supper, too. She knew Uncle Pierre's and Uncle Alex's tables weren't big enough to seat everyone. Marie-Grace also enjoyed helping cook the meals with her aunts and girl cousins.

"Marie-Grace, will you pass the potatoes?" Gilbert asked, grinning.

Marie-Grace handed him the platter, and he spooned a generous helping onto his plate.

"Grace," Papa suddenly called, from across the table.

Marie-Grace grew still and watched Papa's face intently. He looked serious.

Papa adjusted his spectacles, then picked up his dinner fork, fiddling with the greens on his plate before he spoke. "Grace, when I went to town with Pierre today, I saw wanted posters. Apparently there is a criminal near Cairo."

_Oh, no!_ Marie-Grace thought. _He saw Clancy Bond's wanted posters!_

"I've been wondering if you and Alice are safe, going to town so much," Papa said. He cleared his throat before continuing. "The criminal's name is Clancy Bond."

"Yes, Papa, Alice and I have seen the posters," Marie-Grace told him.

Papa looked shocked. "Grace, why didn't you tell me! I'm sure Uncle Pierre is just as concerned about the safety for you girls as I am!" He paused a moment. "So I was thinking that—since it seems as though you girls might be in danger, and I don't want to take any chances—I've decided that you won't be allowed to go to town—"

"Papa!" Marie-Grace protested.

"—by yourself," Papa finished. "I don't mind if you go with one of the older boys or an adult, but I just don't think it's safe for you and Alice to go to town by yourselves."

"Yes," Uncle Pierre spoke up. "I agree. The criminal looks dangerous. I wouldn't risk something happening to you girls before the police catch him. And this new rule goes for all the younger children, too."

Marie-Grace knew there was nothing more she could say, so she glanced at Alice sitting beside her.

Alice seemed to be thinking the same thing Marie-Grace was: _How are we going to solve the mystery, now?_

– ❧ –

They went to bed early, and Alice fell asleep instantly. But Marie-Grace lay awake, thinking how they could possibly find more evidence against Clancy Bond and Mr. Anon—especially now that they weren't allowed in town without the older boys. The boys would probably be reluctant in going to town with the girls, so that wouldn't work.

Then Marie-Grace wondered if the murderer of Mayor Potts even was Clancy Bond and Mr. Anon. They hadn't actually _seen_ the criminal in Cairo.

What if she and Alice were all wrong in their thinking?

_But,_ she reminded herself, _Mr. Anon has been acting suspicious._

So Marie-Grace fell asleep, the image of Mr. staring at the bank coming to her mind, wearing his black boots.

– ❧ –

"Marie-Grace!" she heard Alice's voice hissing in her ear.

Marie-Grace sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Through her cousin's bedroom window she could see it was still dark outside. Alice was still shaking her shoulder.

"Marie-Grace!" Alice whispered. "I saw men pass by our house!"

"What?" Marie-Grace asked groggily.

"There were two men. One was tall, and the other was tall, too, but shorter than the first man, and the shorter man had dark hair."

A big man, and a tall, dark-haired man? The descriptions reminded Marie-Grace of something.

A fuzzy memory came to her mind of a shadow of a dark-haired man. Was he behind a curtain, which made him look fuzzy?

Marie-Grace blinked her eyes. Then she sat up straighter. No. The descriptions reminded her of the two men she had seen though the window in the cabin, the day before. And the shorter man had had dark hair.

"I think it's the criminal and Mr. Anon!" Alice whispered.

Marie-Grace protested, "But they sound like the men we saw in the cabin!"

Alice gasped. "What if those men we saw in the cabin _were_ Clancy Bond and Mr. Anon!"

Marie-Grace shivered at the possibility. It made sense that the two criminals would hide out in an old, abandoned cabin.

Alice hopped out of bed, and Marie-Grace saw she was wearing a thick wool coat over her nightgown, and boots on her bare feet.

"What are you doing?" Marie-Grace asked, frightened.

"I'm going to follow them!" Alice declared. "If it's Clancy Bond and Rupert Anon, then I need to see where they're going and what they're doing. Maybe I'll find some evidence against them for the police! Now, are you coming with me?" Without waiting for an answer, she headed toward the bedroom door.

"Wait!" Marie-Grace said.

She was trembling, but she slid out of bed and slipped her feet into her shoes, and put on her coat. "I'm coming." The idea of following possible criminals—_anyone_—in the dark made icy shivers run up her spine.

"Good!" Alice said, grinning.

They went outside, but the girls couldn't see anything. Alice had brought matches and a kerosene lamp, but she didn't light it.

"No one's here," Marie-Grace said. "We should go back inside."

"Look!" Alice cried. She pointed to a bobbing light in the distance. "They're carrying a lantern! We'll have to keep quiet as we follow them."

The girls hurried after the light.

When they came closer, dodging behind trees to keep out of view, Marie-Grace could see the outlines of two men.

The girls didn't speak a word, just kept walking quickly after the bobbing lantern.

After walking a long ways, Marie-Grace had an idea where the men were going.

She wasn't surprised when they came to the cabin in the woods. The bigger man, holding the lantern, opened the door. He went in first, the shorter man following. He seemed to be carrying something, like a large sack, in his hand. The shorter man looked to be carrying a sack, too.

The door closed behind him.

Alice gestured with her hand that they should hide under the cabin's window. So she and Marie-Grace darted forward and pushed themselves against the wall of the cabin, under the windowsill. Then they inched upward, just peeking over the window frame, into the cabin.

Marie-Grace saw the two men standing in front of a fireplace. The smaller man set his sack down. Another sack was already on the floor. Both the men's faces were turned toward the fireplace, which the bigger man had just lit. He threw the match into the flames, then reached into a sack and took out something. He threw it into the fire, also, and stood as it burned.

Marie-Grace was sure it looked like papers. _It's Mayor Potts's documents!_ she told herself.

Then the men took out other things from the sacks. What they held glinted in the firelight.

The bigger man suddenly came toward the window, and Alice gasped, ducking low into a crouch, yanking Marie-Grace with her. "It's Clancy Bond!" she hissed.

"Did you see the other one?" Marie-Grace whispered.

Alice shook her head, petrified by fear, too terrified to speak.

The wind was cold; it stung Marie-Grace's cheeks.

"And that is Mrs. White's jewelry that they are holding!" Alice said.

"I think what they burned were Mayor Potts's papers," Marie-Grace told her cousin quietly.

The girls stayed in their position, not daring to move an inch. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Alice slowly peeked in the window again. Marie-Grace did the same.

She saw the big man sitting on the floor. From the light of the fire, she could see his face clearly. It was the spitting image of the criminal's picture from the wanted poster.

"We have to get the sheriff!" Alice hissed under her breath.

Suddenly, Marie-Grace remembered. "Oh, but Papa told us we weren't to go in town alone!"

Alice thought a moment. "We'll get the boys," she decided, and they crept away.

Marie-Grace wasn't sure if Gilbert and Bruno would like being woken up at night. But she didn't dare disobey Papa.

The view of the cabin cabin was growing smaller as they walked away. Marie-Grace glanced back over her shoulder one last time, then stiffened as she saw the door open. Her heart raced as the two men stepped in the doorway, one of them holding a lantern. Then they left the cabin, walking around and behind it, and Marie-Grace quickly told Alice what she had seen.

"We should search the cabin while they're out!" Alice decided. "Then we'll know for sure if they have Mrs. White's stolen jewelry in there!"

Before Marie-Grace could argue, Alice raced back toward the dilapidated house.


	11. Hiding in the Cabin

11

HIDING IN THE CABIN

Marie-Grace found Alice kneeling on the floor in the cabin, looking through one of the sacks.

"Marie-Grace!" Alice exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement. "There is jewelry in this bag that matches the description of Mrs. White's jewelry, perfectly! Except, the ruby necklace is missing . . ."

"The one we saw at Mr. Gregory's store!" Marie-Grace interrupted, just as excited.

She went to look in the other sack.

"I didn't look in that yet," Alice told her.

Marie-Grace found papers in the sack, with signatures on it. There was also money.

"They must have stolen this from the bank," Marie-Grace said grimly, holding up a wad of cash.

Alice glanced up at her. Suddenly her face blanched white. "Someone's coming!" she hissed, springing to her feet.

Marie-Grace could hear footsteps on the porch, over her pounding heart. Then the door rattled, and the doorknob turned.

As the two men entered the cabin, the bigger man, Clancy Bond, set a sack he was carrying on the floor, which was identical to the two sacks in the cabin. The shorter man bent to stoke the fire.

Marie-Grace and Alice were hiding behind an old cabinet near a wall. Marie-Grace's heart was pounding so loudly in her chest she hoped the men didn't hear it.

Alice was sitting directly behind the cabinet, so she couldn't see the men, but she listened intently.

The door of the cabinet was swung open to the wall. It was a large, heavy door, and Marie-Grace was sitting behind it, where she had the advantage of peeking through a keyhole in the door to watch the men.

"We need to leave," the shorter man muttered. His dark hair looked orange in the light of the fire. Marie-Grace thought his voice sounded familiar. She recalled Mr. Anon's voice, but it somehow didn't match this man's tone correctly.

Though she still thought he was Mr. Anon. She was sure of it. From the fire's light, and the light of the lantern the bigger man held, she could make out the shorter man's—Mr. Anon's—black, polished boots. But his back was to her, so she couldn't see if the toes were pointed.

". . . stay another night . . ." the big man muttered gruffly. Marie-Grace strained to hear their talk.

". . . need to get out. The sheriff—"

"I know!" the big man cut Mr. Anon off. "But it's too risky. I think . . ." His voice again became a hushed whisper.

Marie-Grace could see the big man clearly. He had Clancy Bond's exact face from the wanted poster. His beard was a little longer, though.

Clancy Bond muttered something. Marie-Grace wished the men would talk louder so she could hear them. ". . . sleep the night here," he muttered.

Marie-Grace wanted to cry. If the men were going to sleep in the cabin, how were she and Alice going to escape? Her back was already beginning to hurt, pressed up against the wall.

"We'll need firewood," the smaller man said.

Both the men went out the door, and Marie-Grace and Alice scrambled to their feet instantly.

Marie-Grace's legs trembled.

Alice grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door.

They were in such a hurry that Alice carelessly let the door slam closed.

"Hey!" Clancy Bond shouted, from behind the cabin.

Marie-Grace gasped, and she and Alice ran away as fast as they could until the cabin was out of sight.

They finally slowed a little, but still running quickly.

"What if they're . . . following us?" Alice gasped.

Marie-Grace couldn't reply, her heart was pounding so hard. Her legs felt like jelly, trembling.

They ran for a long time, gasping, sometimes slowing to catch a bit of their breath. Then Marie-Grace remembered Clancy Bond and the other man, and imagined them chasing her and Alice, and she sped up.

They finally arrived at the cluster of Aunt Lisette's, Uncle Pierre's, and Uncle Alex's houses.

Alice surprised Marie-Grace by running into Uncle Alex's house. Marie-Grace quickly followed her, not wanting to be left outside, alone in the dark.

As Marie-Grace came through the door, which Alice was holding open for her, Alice whispered, "We need to get one of the boys to take us to town, so we can tell the sheriff about the men."

Marie-Grace nodded.

They tiptoed through the house, and Alice went in a door. Marie-Grace supposed it was the boys' bedroom.

Bruno and Gilbert were fast asleep in their beds. Bruno's bed was closer to them, so Alice went over and shook his shoulder.

The boy blinked his eyes and sat up when he saw Alice. _"Quoi?"_ he asked. He spied Marie-Grace and looked at both the girls curiously.

_"Nous avons besoin de votre aide,"_ Alice told him.

Marie-Grace listened as her cousin explained everything quickly, in French.

When she was finished, Bruno nodded and climbed out of bed. He was wearing trousers and a loose, white cotton shirt.

He grabbed a coat off a chair. Gilbert was still snoring as he slipped his arms into it. Bruno also grabbed a pair of boots and quickly put his feet into them.

"What did you tell him?" Marie-Grace whispered to Alice.

"Everything," Alice murmured. "That we found two criminals in the cabin in the woods, who murdered Mayor Potts and stole Mrs. White's jewelry, and we need him to take us to town to get the sheriff."

Bruno finished buttoning his wool coat. "Hurry," he told the two girls quietly.

They went out of the bedroom, and through the hall, out of the house. They started following the worn path to town in the dark.

And as Marie-Grace hurried on, shivering and rubbing her arms, glancing at the trees, every shadow seemed to resemble Clancy Bond.


	12. Sheriff Lewis Intervenes

12

SHERIFF LEWIS INTERVENES

As they hurried to town, Alice explained to Bruno—in English, so Marie-Grace would understand—about all the clues they had found, and how they had hid in the cabin and seen Clancy Bond and Mr. Anon.

Marie-Grace was going to remind Alice that they hadn't exactly seen Mr. Anon, but she kept quiet.

Bruno was quiet, too. Marie-Grace felt grateful toward him for taking them to town. She also felt safer with an older person near.

When they came to Cairo, it seemed like a ghost town. It was so quiet and dark, with no people or wagons rolling through the streets, at this hour.

Marie-Grace didn't know where the sheriff's office was, but Bruno and Alice seemed to know the way.

They both led Marie-Grace to a small house, with the sign _SHERIFF LEWIS_ over the door.

Bruno was breathing heavily from their run, and he still looked sleepy, but he managed to gasp out to the girls, "Stay here. I'll get the sheriff."

He went inside the house, leaving them in the dark, standing on the wood porch.

Alice shivered. "I'm still scared from being in the cabin with the criminals," she said. "I can hardly believe we're going to catch them!"

Marie-Grace shook her head. "What if they've already got away?"

Alice was about to reply when the door to the sheriff's office opened. A tall man with graying hair, and two pistols hanging at his side, stood in the doorway, Bruno behind him.

"I heard you girls have found Clancy Bond," the sheriff said seriously.

The girls nodded.

"But he will escape if we don't hurry to the cabin, where he's staying!" Alice cried.

"_You_ girls aren't coming to catch the criminal!" Sheriff Lewis gasped, shocked. "I'm having some of my deputies help me. They'll be here soon enough."

"But he will already have escaped!" Alice protested. "There's no time!" And she hurried off down the street.

"Wait!" Sheriff Lewis called to her. He, Bruno, and Marie-Grace chased after Alice.

Alice was a fast runner. They all soon tired, trying to catch her, and kept following at a slower pace. Marie-Grace soon realized her cousin was leading them back to the cabin in the woods.

Alice stopped running when the cabin appeared in sight, a few yards off.

"Look!" she gasped. "There's a light on inside! There must still be someone there!"

It had been about twenty minutes since the girls had been hiding in the cabin. Marie-Grace was a bit surprised the criminals hadn't already deserted it.

Sheriff Lewis stroked his short beard thoughtfully. "I would usually need more deputies for the job," he mused. He turned to Bruno and offered him one of the two guns from the holster on his belt. "Do you think you can handle this?" he asked. He took the other gun for himself, and Marie-Grace noticed his finger was already on the trigger, ready to shoot.

Bruno seemed surprised, but he nodded, and took the pistol.

The girls crept up to the cabin with the sheriff and Bruno.

"You girls stay here," Sheriff Lewis whispered to them.

Alice nodded, and pressed herself and Marie-Grace against the wall, under the window.

Sheriff Lewis listened at the door for a moment, then flung it wide open, holding out his gun. "Put your hands up!" he shouted.

A surprised cry came from inside the cabin, and there was the sound of something hitting the floor.

Marie-Grace grinned and Alice whooped. The girls rushed into the cabin.

Clancy Bond stood near the fireplace, his hands high in the air, glaring. A necklace was on the floor by his feet.

"They're caught! . . . " Marie-Grace began, but her voice faded. She looked fearfully around the cabin, then at Sheriff Lewis. "Where is Mr. Anon?"

"Who?" the sheriff asked, looking puzzled.

Marie-Grace swallowed hard, realizing Bruno must not have mentioned that _two_ men were in the cabin.

Just then the backdoor of the cabin opened, and a man stepped in. His face was shadowed from the hard light from where he stood, but it was evident he was holding a long shotgun.

Alice gasped, and Sheriff Lewis turned pale.

"Drop your gun, and put your hands in the air!" the man ordered. He didn't sound at all like Mr. Anon, Marie-Grace realized, but his voice was strangely familiar.

Sheriff Lewis slowly lowered his gun, then dropped it to the floor. It landed with a loud thud.

"Marie-Grace, turn around!" the man ordered.

Marie-Grace realized now that this man was in fact _not_ Mr. Anon, because he didn't have the heavy, French accent that her papa's friend had. She was also puzzled by the man's request. Why would he order just _her_ to turn around? And if he wasn't Mr. Anon, how did he know her name?

She obeyed, turning around with her hands in the air, so that she was staring at the open, front door of the cabin.

The man's footsteps signaled he was coming forward.

Alice suddenly gasped, and before Marie-Grace could ask what was wrong, she heard two loud, thumping noises. The man groaned, and Marie-Grace whirled around to see him laying on his face, on the floor. His gun was on the ground near him.

Bruno stood behind the man, holding a pistol, the backdoor open. His arm was out, showing that he had hit the man over the head with the pistol Sheriff Lewis had given him.


	13. Croissants at the Bakery

**Many thanks to everyone who read this story, here is the last chapter!**

**~I am that Writer**

**PS: It is 150 pages. Yay!**

* * *

13

CROISSANTS AT THE BAKERY

Bruno stepped forward and kicked the man's gun farther away from him. He held his own pistol steady, and ordered for the man to stand up.

Sheriff Lewis quickly recovered, and picked up his own gun on the floor, aiming it at Clancy Bond, who was looking around, dazed.

The dark-haired man on the floor, with his black, pointed boots, stood up.

It was Mr. Stevens, the pilot from the boat _Liberty_.

Marie-Grace gasped. She cried out, "Mr. Stevens!" wondering if there was some mistake that he was in the same cabin with the murderer Clancy Bond.

The man looked guiltily at her. "I never would have harmed you, Marie-Grace," he said quietly.

Sheriff Lewis quickly stepped forward and took handcuffs out of his pocket, snapping them onto Mr. Stevens' wrists, all the while watching Clancy Bond carefully.

"Your father healed my son from the Yellow Fever," Mr. Stevens told Marie-Grace. He hung his head. "I didn't want you to see me like this, so I made you turn around."

"But _I_ recognized him!" Alice spoke up. "That's why I gasped. And then Bruno hit him from behind." She shook her head in admiration at her cousin's bravery.

Bruno stood still, pointing his gun firmly at Clancy Bond, seeming to think he was the greater threat, now that Mr. Stevens was revealed and handcuffed.

Sheriff Lewis quickly handcuffed Clancy Bond, as well.

"I'm sorry, Marie-Grace," Mr. Stevens said quietly.

Marie-Grace felt tears come to her eyes.

"I needed the money. Ever since my wife died, my son and I haven't have a home."

"But what about your job on _Liberty_?" Marie-Grace asked.

He shook his head. "It wasn't enough. My son wasn't getting enough food."

"Where is he now?" Marie-Grace asked.

"In New Orleans." Mr. Stevens dropped his head again. "He tried to make a few coins, polishing gentlemen's shoes on the street. I promised him I would be back soon."

Marie-Grace was quiet. "Did you murder Mayor Potts?" she finally asked.

"No, that was Clancy Bond." Mr. Stevens looked at the murderer. "He told me to shake a bush with a string, to make the mayor come out the backdoor. I didn't want to, but Clancy threatened me.

"I found the criminal the day I got off _Liberty_, hiding behind the hotel I was staying at. He was going to kill me when I offered to help him, if he would give me some of the profit. I was desperate. He admitted he would like a partner. I quickly realized how much of a mistake it was to join him."

The criminal glowered at Mr. Stevens as the Sheriff finished handcuffing him.

Marie-Grace sadly wondered if she should believe Mr. Stevens. How did she know he wasn't lying about not murdering the mayor? She couldn't trust him anymore.

Suddenly Alice, as bossy as ever, with her hands on her hips, demanded, "What about the mayor's papers? Why did you take them?"

Mr. Stevens shrugged. "That was an accident. Clancy and I had just meant to rob the bank, and we needed to get the mayor out of the way. I actually hadn't known Clancy would _murder_ him. We saw the papers on our way out, and Clancy snatched them, saying they might be important. He burned them after he looked at them back at the cabin."

Alice seemed satisfied with the answer, though Marie-Grace again wondered if she should believe Mr. Steven's word.

Alice suddenly went to stand in front of Clancy Bond, her hands still on her hips. "Did you kill old Mrs. White?" she demanded.

The man glared at her, and Alice met his icy gaze. Finally, he jerked his head in a stiff nod.

"Let's take these men to the jail!" Sheriff Lewis decided, finally. Marie-Grace felt relieved that someone was taking charge of things.

As the sheriff and Bruno herded the men out of the cabin with their guns, Marie-Grace stepped forward and touched Mr. Stevens's arm, stopping him. "What about your son?" she asked quietly.

Mr. Stevens looked sad. "I suppose he'll stay with my aunt in New Orleans, for the time being."

The sheriff turned to Mr. Stevens, a look of understanding in his eyes. "You know, things might go easier on you if you continue to cooperate."

– ❧ –

Marie-Grace and Alice woke up late the next morning, from their long night before.

All the adults had already heard about the girls' incident with the criminals and sheriff, from Bruno, who had woken his parents the night before, when they arrived back at the house—and word had quickly spread until Aunt Lissie's, and the uncles' and aunts' houses were awake.

Sheriff Lewis stopped by that morning to say that Mr. Stevens and Clancy Bond were safely in jail. And Mr. Stevens—unlike Clancy Bond—was cooperating, and told the police everything, and said that he regretted his actions—so he was only sentenced to a short time in jail. His son was being looked after by his aunt in New Orleans.

Marie-Grace and Alice were scolded terribly for their behavior, and Papa announced that they would be returning home in a few days.

Bruno was scolded, too, for running off with the girls, but as Uncle Alex was speaking to him firmly, Marie-Grace could see the pride he felt for his son in his eyes.

"It must have been terrifying!" Elise said. "Weren't you girls scared, hiding in that old cabin?"

"You're lucky the ghosts didn't get you!" Gilbert teased.

Marie-Grace sighed, and said, "Oh, Gilbert, there are no ghosts! When Alice first showed me the cabin, I saw a light in it, and I admit I thought it might be a ghost, but now I'm sure it was just Mr. Stevens and Clancy Bond."

"I can't believe you girls actually saw that horrible criminal!" Édith shivered.

Just then, Aunt Lissie brought out a pan of biscuits, with butter and strawberry jam on the side. She set it on the table and said to Marie-Grace and Alice, "To think, you girls running off and solving a mystery!" Her voice was accusing, but she leaned down and smiled, whispering, "But I think you girls were brave, and I'm proud of you."

But Aunt Lissie was hard of hearing, so her words were louder than intended, and the other adults heard. They all nodded, hesitantly, in agreement.

Later, in Aunt Lissie's house, as the women and girls cooked the noon meal, Marie-Grace realized she hadn't wrote Cécile a letter since she had been on _Liberty_.

So she sat down at a quiet little desk, in a room at the back of Aunt Lissie's house, and took out a piece of paper, a feather pen, and an ink jug from the desk's drawer.

Marie-Grace dipped her feather in the inkwell, and held it hovering above the paper for a moment.

She wondered where to begin, how to write everything that had happened since she'd arrived in Cairo.

Finally, she put her feather to the paper, and stroked downward. The feather's tip scratched the surface noisily. _Dear Cécile,_ she began.

_I'm sorry I haven't written to you since I was on the boat. That's because so many things have happened since I've arrived in Cairo, Illinois!_

_You were right. I have had an adventure. This is my second one since I left New Orleans. I will tell you all about it when I come back home (Papa said we will be leaving in a few days), but for now I will try to write the small details. . . ._

She smiled, and continued writing, filling up three whole pages of paper, writing on the front and back of them, in small handwriting. Her hand was cramped when she finished. She signed it:

_Your Friend,_

_Marie-Grace_

– ❧ –

Later, Papa told Marie-Grace that—since the criminals had been caught—she and Alice were free to go to town by themselves.

"I still can't believe Mr. Stevens was helping a criminal," Papa sighed.

"He said he regretted what he did," Marie-Grace reminded him gently. "I think he is really a good man. But he needed money for his son." She knew the blow was hardest on Papa, who had known Mr. Stevens a long time.

Marie-Grace and Alice decided to walked to town—with André, who had begged to come.

They passed the jewelry store, and Marie-Grace went inside, still curious about Mr. Gregory's behavior two days before.

Alice and André stood behind her, quietly.

"Mr. Gregory?" Marie-Grace asked, sighting him behind a counter.

He smiled and said, "Yes?" raising his eyebrows.

"Where did you get the necklace with the ruby stone in it?" Marie-Grace asked. She didn't see it on the counter.

"You mean the one you dropped the other day?" he said.

Marie-Grace nodded.

He sighed, then said, "I suppose you've guessed where it came from." He fiddled with a gold ring he was holding.

André, paying no attention to their conversation, picked up a pretty silver bracelet from the counter, and held it up in the sunlight.

Mr. Gregory put down the ring. "I heard you helped catch the criminals last night," he said, clearly stalling for time.

But Alice got straight to the point, claiming, "The necklace was Mrs. White's, and it was stolen!"

Mr. Gregory nodded reluctantly. "A tall, dark-haired man came into the store and sold it to me." He shook his head. "But I didn't know it was stolen! . . . at the time. A woman came into my shop later, and offered a large sum of money for it. She didn't buy it, but I was excited at the idea that I could sell it for an expensive price. Then I read in the newspaper about Mrs. White's stolen jewelry, and saw that the description of a necklace matched the one in my shop." He shrugged. "I was still trying to sell it when you girls saw it."

"But you turned it into the police, in the end?" Marie-Grace asked.

He nodded. "Yes, and I have these for you girls." He held up two identical matching silver necklaces. The chains on the necklaces were delicate, and on the end of the chain hung a tiny blue sapphire stone.

Alice gasped. "They're beautiful!" She quickly added, "But I don't think Papa could afford them."

"I'm giving them to you free!" Mr. Gregory told the girls. "In congratulations for helping capture the criminals. Did you know they had stolen other things besides money from the bank, and Mrs. White's jewelry?"

The girls nodded. They had read the newspaper that morning—which, apart from the title words on the front page—YOUNG GIRLS SOLVE MYSTERY!—had held all the details about the captured criminals.

He shook his head. "Who knows what else they might have stolen if they hadn't been captured!"

The girls took their necklaces eagerly and put them around their necks. They thanked Mr. Gregory, and left the shop.

Out in the street again, Marie-Grace could see Mr. Anon standing by the bank, staring at it.

"Look!" she told Alice. "Why is he so interested in the bank?"

They were close enough to hear Mr. Anon turn to a nearby man and say, "I'm thinking about getting a job at this bank."

"Oh!" Alice laughed. "That explains it!"

Marie-Grace nodded in agreement, and felt bad for ever suspecting the man.

As they continued walking, they passed the bakery, and Mrs. Davis called to them from the open bakery window. "Hello, girls!" Her voice was cheerful. "I heard you solved a mystery!"

They both nodded, and Mrs. Davis offered, "Come into the bakery!"

André rushed in front of them, so she was the first to get a free croissant from Miss Marshal, who smiled as the little girl took it.

Alice and Marie-Grace took their croissants as well, and thanked Mrs. Davis and Miss Marshal. The women congratulated them like Mr. Gregory had, for they had read the newspaper, too.

Outside of the bakery, Marie-Grace felt bad for ever suspecting Mrs. Davis and Miss Marshal, even if just barely. They were nice women to give them free croissants.

But Marie-Grace was past all that now—she and Alice had solved their mystery.

The girls walked down the street of Cairo, Illinois, taking their time. Marie-Grace glanced at a wood post to see the wanted paper of Clancy Bond being taken down.

It was warm for March. There was a cool breeze in the air, and the sun was hot overhead.

André popped the last of her croissant into her mouth, then licked her fingers for crumbs. "Alice," she asked, "when we get home, can we visit the cabin in the woods?"

* * *

GLOSSARY OF FRENCH WORDS

**Oui** _(wee)_—yes

**Sont-ils mon cousin, et mon oncle?**—Are they my cousin, and my uncle?

**Bonjour** _(bohn-zhoor)_—hello, good morning

**Parlez-vous français?**—Do you speak French?

**Maman** _(mah-mahn)_—mama

**Merci** _(mehr-CEE)_—thank you

**Quoi_?_**—What?

**Nous avons besoin de votre aide**—We need your help

* * *

***Watch out for newest American Girl story from I am that Writer: a Caroline Mystery, coming soon!***


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